


Love Affairs

by con_fection



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain Marvel (2019), InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Kagome loves everyone, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Powerful Higurashi Kagome, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve Rogers, X-Overs, stucky x kagome, taking requests
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 08:19:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 29,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19372855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/con_fection/pseuds/con_fection
Summary: In a myriad of different worlds and dimensions, Kagome gives out love just as easily as she acquires it. Kagome/x-overs [Requests open]





	1. Yon-Rogg (MCU)

_**Love Affairs** _

_**Chapter one:** _

**Yon-Rogg (Captain Marvel/ MCU)**

* * *

He bowed his head respectfully, not meeting the Supreme Intelligence's (which took the form of his late father) inquisitive gaze.

"And this is the message that Vers gave to you? That she will return to destroy us and the war we have created?" His father snarled, the Supreme Intelligence detested all mention of the traitor to the Kree.

"Yes," Yon-Rogg confirmed with a nod of his bowed head.

"You have failed the Kree once," It said.

He was so nervous he almost forgot how to breathe. The Kree were his entire life, his whole being was dedicated to them and furthering their mission. To fail the Kree was a terrible crime in both his eyes and the Supreme Intelligence's.

"Vers came to find the truth, abandon the Kree and harm the Supreme Intelligence under your watch," The Supreme Intelligence hissed.

He could tell it was his father's voice, but he had truly never heard him sound so animalistic and vengeful- that was a quality bestowed upon his voice by the Supreme Intelligence.

"I have failed the Kree." Yon-Rogg felt his heart clench in his chest. Surely execution for failure to serve the Kree was imminent.

"Vers is of little concern at present. She will be hunted down and her execution will be broadcast for all of Halla to see, when the time is right."

"Is there any way that I could possibly-"

"Fool!" He was interrupted by a sharp hiss. "You should be grateful you are not dead. For your failure to properly manipulate Vers and extract her power, you should be killed. However, you are a fine warrior and the Supreme Intelligence has decreed that you shall redeem yourself."

"How?" He asked, his head snapping up so that his golden brown eyes met with the gaze of his father.

"Listen carefully. Our reports confirm that Vers has departed from planet C-53, and is number of galaxies away. A full scale invasion would risk her reappearance, but a team of a select few individuals would arouse no suspicion if they carry out their mission with the utmost secrecy."

"I am to go back to planet C-53?" Yon-Rogg asked with a frown.

"Not you, but a team of warriors that have  _never_ failed the Kree before." The Supreme Intelligence answered with a glare. "There is a girl on planet C-53 that possesses a unique power, one that can heal the damage that traitor Vers caused. The team will retrieve her, and it will be your role to ensure that she utilises her power in service to the Kree and stays as our asset."

"I will not fail." He answered.

"Failure will result in your termination. You have been a useful and loyal warrior in the past, ensure that you keep serving us."

"I am forever in the service of the Kree." He promised.

It was then that his eyes truly opened, and he was released from the Supreme Intelligence's mental illusion. The black wires slithered back down his body, receding into the tiles he was kneeled upon. He pulled himself off the floor, grateful for both the mercy of the Supreme Intelligence and of the chance to serve the Kree once more. He would not make the same mistake twice. Whoever this girl was would remain loyal to both him and the Kree, that he was certain of.

* * *

Yon-Rogg spent countless nights in his room in central Hala agonising over the girl's arrival.

How could he possibly turn her to their side if she had been kidnapped from her home planet? Perhaps this elite team sent by the Supreme Intelligence would be wise enough to erase her memory. But that didn't work on Vers, she eventually recovered hers. To prevent the same thing from happening, surely he would just have to mix in elements of the truth with the lies.

Two weeks after his initial meeting with the Supreme Intelligence, he was summoned, via communicator, to the main hangers on Hala.

"The time is now," He whispered to himself, striding confidently through the streets and reciting his code to the guard (composed of artificial intelligence) that stood outside the hangar.

The hangar itself appeared to be completely devoid of people. The only objects were the advanced shuttles, fighter planes and aircrafts in neat rows. He observed the hanger with confused eyes, glancing back down at his communicator as if it would tell him where the team were.

A hissing noise tore his attention from the communicator and towards a stationary jet at the far end of the hangar, its ramp descending to the floor below. He could hear the quiet murmurings of the team within get increasingly louder as he got closer to the aircraft.

A man, dressed in identical Kree uniform to Yon-Rogg, descended from the jet.

"Name." He stated, pausing in front of him.

"Yon-Rogg."

The man nodded, "The subject will be removed from the jet momentarily and placed within your custody. Be warned, she isn't a quiet one."

"That is no issue." He answered.

"My team would not agree with you." The other Kree warrior stated. "Rook, we're clear to bring the subject out!"

"Finally!" Another man emerged from the jet, a long white scar running down his red face and down his neck. "Gotta tell ya, she put up a hell of a fight." The second man laughed, turning back into the jet and dragging the subject out with him.

"Hands off me!" She yelled.

Whatever Yon-Rogg had been expecting, she wasn't it. She didn't have the physique of a soldier, like Vers did. She didn't wear the garb of the warriors of planet C-53 like Vers did. Instead she was rather slim, with raven hair that cascaded down her back, an angelic face with an angry expression and had bright blue eyes blazing with fury, wearing a white sleeveless shirt and a ridiculously short green skirt. She shook her fists at the guard, although her hands were safely cuffed.

"I'm glad to get rid of you," The man with red skin growled, pushing her towards Yon-Rogg.

"Watch it, pal!" She retorted angrily, her body colliding with Yon-Rogg's, although she didn't pay him any attention.

"The subject is yours." The first man nodded, turning to walk out of the hangar.

The man with red skin glared at her, and she glared right back. He unholstered the weapon strapped to his thigh.

"Going to shoot me when I can't fight back?" She huffed.

He didn't say another word to her, adjusting the setting on the gun via his communicative pad, which it was synced to, and firing with a loud bang directly into her chest. A thin dart fired from the gun, planting itself in the well-endowed chest of the subject.

"That should shut her up for a while." The man with red skin smiled deviously. "The Captain was trying to stop me for the entire flight, it felt so good."

Yon-Rogg narrowed his eyes. "She's my subject now."

"Believe me, you'll thank me. And besides, I can't stand whiners."

With that, the Kree warrior exited the hangar, leaving behind Yon-Rogg and the unconscious subject leaned against him.

Yon-Rogg brought her into his arms, easily lifting her weight and holding her to his chest.

"And so it begins." He told himself, looking down at the serene visage of the woman in his arms.

* * *

He took her back to his room in central Hala, laying her body on the bed and checking her for any injuries that she may have acquired during the journey, although he doubted that the two Kree elite would have harmed someone so integral to the repair of the Supreme Intelligence.

He carefully removed the dart from her chest, tugging her shirt down slightly to get a look at the wound. He decided that it wasn't deep enough to be of any concern and wrapped the wound. Yon-Rogg watched her sleep in complete fascination.

Naïvely he had assumed that the girl would  _look_ like she was capable of possessing exceptionally strong powers. The woman tossing and turning on his bed certainly wasn't like that. She looked fragile and gentle, but from the way he had seen her resist the Kree elite that retrieved her from planet C-53, he knew that she had a fierce side which she would most likely display for him when she awoke.

His communicator beeped loudly, and he ripped his gaze away from the angelic face of the girl on his bed. It was a file from a representative of the Supreme Intelligence, detailing what little information was known about the girl.

She was eighteen, relatively young for an inhabitant of planet C-53. The way she attained her immense amount of energy was unknown, but it had been confirmed that it was she who possessed that energy. The report stated that a wave of powerful energy was tranced back to her residence, and that upon the Kree elite's arrival to take her to Hala, she resisted, utilising energy that came from her hands, which he noticed were still bound in the cuffs.

He closed the report, and strode over to her, pulling her hands gently into his and unclasping the restraints, which he noted were not standard issue and were probably made specifically for her capture.

It was almost sad to see a being of such incredible potential shackled, she was to be the saviour of the Kree, not their captive. If he were going to convince her to heal the Supreme Intelligence, then he would need to make himself and the rest of the Kree seem trustworthy.

Yon-Rogg frowned at the thought of how those Kree elite treated her. As if she were just a replacement part for a broken machine, as if she wasn't deserving of their respect. Surely that awful first impression they had made would not work in the favour of their race.

She tossed and turned more frequently as the minutes went by, her now free hands branching out and twisting his bedsheets. He knew it wouldn't be long until she awoke from the slumber she had been forced into.

He leaned over her face, observing her ever-changing facial expressions until she went still.

Her eyes opened.

Blue met golden brown.

She retreated backwards to the edge of the bed, as far from him as she could be. "Take me back, now! You can't just keep me here!"

He sighed. Obviously, this new environment that she had been violently placed into would not go down well.

"I need your help," He told her, weary of getting closer to her now that both her hands and temper were unleashed.

"You people can't just take me from my home and expect me to help you! I'm not some kind of genie!" She shouted, narrowing her pretty blue eyes at him and crawling closer.

"I'm sorry, I know it must be horrible to be dragged from your home and brought somewhere you don't want to be-" Yon-Rogg began sympathetically.

"And  _where_ am I?"

"Welcome to Hala, it is the home of my people." He said evenly, "We are in desperate need of your help."

She folded her arms over her chest. "So desperate that your people would not even bother to ask me for my help and kidnap me from my house?!"

"The ones sent to collect you were idiots," He scoffed.

"Why me?" She pointed aggressively to herself. "Why not somebody else? Anyone else?"

"A few weeks ago, we picked up on an energy source which traced back to you. We hadn't planned to even do anything about it, until our people were betrayed and our leader seriously injured." Yon-Rogg summarised. "We need energy to restore our leader so that our people may prosper once more."

She remained aggressive in her outward attitude, but he could tell that something within her had broken. Her blue eyes no longer contained the same level of fury they once had, and instead were flooded with empathy.

"I am Yon-Rogg and my people are the Kree," He introduced himself slowly. "We require your help, and we would be honoured if you gave it to us."

She clutched a fist to her chest. The last thing she remembered was being dragged from the shrine, kicking and screaming and now waking up in this foreign place. She was angry at heart, absolutely livid- but her heart ached to soothe the suffering here, it was her best and worst trait.

"My name is Kagome," She replied, "Will you take me home if I help your people?"

"As soon as I am able to," He told her, "I'm sorry that your arrival here was so distressing."

"What happened to your leader?" Kagome asked.

"Not long ago, my friend Vers betrayed us and joined the Skrulls, our enemy. With her, she took most of the energy from our leader, the Supreme Intelligence. The Supreme Intelligence is vulnerable to attack, and without it the foundations of Hala and Kree society would crumble. According to what little information we have about you, your power should be more than enough to reconstruct the Supreme Intelligence."

"How bad is the wound?" She furrowed her brows.

"The Supreme Intelligence is an artificial web fully integrated into our lives, it requires energy to run, and Vers destroyed almost half of the system."

She took in a shaky breath. "Damage like that would take a lot of energy to repair, and I've never even tried something like this before."

"The power we recorded a few weeks ago, your power, will be more than enough to resolve the issue," He said gently, sitting on the edge of the bed and meeting her gaze. "Please, Kagome. My people are relying on your power to save us from devastation."

"It would take me at least a week to build up that level of energy," Kagome told him slowly, noticing the hope shining in his enchanting golden brown eyes.

"Anything you need you are more than welcome to have," Yon-Rogg told her quickly. "Our Supreme Intelligence can last for another week, but not for much longer than that."

"I'll help you."

"You have no idea how grateful I am to you, Kagome."

* * *

Yon-Rogg put a soft hand on Kagome's shoulder, as she sat cross-legged on his bed.

"Meditation helps you control this energy?" He asked.

She nodded, a strand of her inky black hair falling over her face. He took a gentle hand to her face and tucked it behind her ear. She  _was_ gentle, and compassionate, but never fragile. She had a fierce streak that would appear at a moment's notice, as he and the Kree's elite had learnt the previous day.

"Kagome, I haven't the slightest idea what the Kree would do without you."

"Don't worry about it," She shrugged, "I just wish I would have been  _asked._ "

"I'm incredibly sorry," Yon-Rogg apologised softly.

"You weren't the one that snatched me from my house, those two soldiers were. If I ever see that red jerk again I swear I'll-" She began.

"He will be taken care of." He interrupted her. "Being so irresponsible with a task like persuading you to help us is horrendous."

"His complaining about me complaining was the real crime." Kagome huffed. "As if I didn't have the right to be upset!"

He shook his head in disdain. Somebody so important to the survival of the Kree should never have been treated with anything less than the utmost respect. They were fortunate that her nature was so forgiving and compassionate that she would still willingly heal the Supreme Intelligence.

With each passing hour, he could feel more energy contained within Kagome's small body and absentmindedly wondered how she did it. He checked up on her every so often, never daring to leave his apartment lest she abandon her promise to help the Kree.

It wasn't difficult for Yon-Rogg to like her, she was playful and seemingly fit in well with his life. He hadn't gone on a single mission with the Starforce since he returned to Halla, and with Kagome being his top priority it seemed that he wouldn't have to for the foreseeable future. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, save for the fact that the Supreme Intelligence wished for Kagome to remain with the Kree, when it was quite clear her objective was to help and then leave.

She arched her back, stretching after being in such a deep meditative state for a few hours. "Man, that's gotta be one of the longest meditation sessions I've ever done. My back feels awful."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Nope," she shook her head, "I just need to stretch my legs." Kagome pulled herself up and off the bed, so that she was stood face to face with Yon-Rogg.

"Would you like me to take you into the streets of Hala?" He asked. Hala would be a sight to behold for somebody from a planet as technologically impaired as planet C-53.

She nodded eagerly, glancing back to look out of his window. "It reminds me of Tokyo, but darker, I guess. And the buildings are taller."

"Hala is where most of the Kree live, central Hala, here, is where Starforce members and those that represent the Supreme Intelligence live and work." Yon-Rogg supplied, holding the door to his room open so that Kagome could exit it and he could follow closely behind.

They made their way out of his apartment, and down a dark flight of stairs illuminated by green lamps. Kagome silently marvelled at everything she passed, the intrigue shown on her face.

He typed in a code to a keypad on the wall, and only a second later, the black door at the bottom of the stairs swung open, revealing a stone street.

Kagome stepped out onto the street, her eyes immediately going to the skies. The buildings towered over her, each one looking nearly identical- all imposing black buildings with windows that did not reveal what was inside. The streets were teeming with people, some young members of the Kree going to shop with their parents, some were Starforce members, dressed in the traditional Kree uniform, and others were simply there to spend time in Hala, the most treasured place to the Kree.

"It's beautiful." She whispered.

The way she looked at Hala with such admiration made his heart swell with pride.

"If you want to see the Starforce base, you are more than welcome to." A smile tugged at his lips as she nodded.

"So, are the Starforce your military?"

"Yes," He told her simply. "Normally there would be hundreds of aircrafts leaving and departing, but since Vers damaged the Supreme Intelligence so greatly, we have not been able to run as many missions as we would like to. There would be too much risk, if a Kree is to be shut off from the Supreme Intelligence and found by a Skrull, they would surely die."

"That's awful," Kagome clutched a hand to her chest as they turned left, walking through the busy streets, although the people cleared a path for them.

"Without the Supreme Intelligence, our people would die." He sighed, guiding her towards the outskirts of Hala, where the buildings were considerably smaller and much further apart, although they still maintained that sleek imposing look that the skyscrapers had.

"It'll take me a few more days to gather enough energy to heal your Supreme Intelligence," Kagome reminded him, "I've done better than I thought I would today."

"How do you do it? Holding such an incredible amount of energy would be overwhelming," Yon-Rogg frowned, looking concerned for the girl walking next to him. He told himself that it was because he couldn't let such a powerful asset to the Kree come to harm.

She shrugged. "I never used to be able to, sometimes I could barely get the energy to appear. Then I discovered that meditation could help me build up and store energy, and since then I've never really needed to try anything else."

"I-" He began, but was paused when he heard Kagome let out a frustrated growl.

There, emerging from the large campus of the Starforce base just ahead of them, was the red man that brought her rather unpleasantly to Halla.

"I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!" Kagome glanced quickly to Yon-Rogg before setting off after the man.

He went after her, hesitant to intervene for fear of being the one her fury was aimed at.

"You!" She yelled, jabbing a finger at the Kree warrior, forcing him to stop in his stride.

"The whiner," The guy gave her a cocky grin and folded his muscular arms over his chest. "I was wondering when I'd see you again."

She glared at him, anger dancing in her blue eyes. "Listen here, buddy." Her finger landed in the centre of his chest. "You don't just get to drag me away from my home and everything I know to be your mechanic! Could you be  _more_ of a jerk?"

He looked imposingly down at her. "Yon-Rogg, I think you should have kept the restraints on her. She clearly doesn't know her place."

"She is  _not_ our prisoner. She is an esteemed guest of the Supreme Intelligence and  _you're_ the one that jeopardised the Kree by treating her with such disrespect." Yon-Rogg looked with disgusted eyes at the man.

The red-skined man hissed at him. "You are not even fit to be a member of the Kree. They should have given you a death sentence for what you did." The man pushed past him roughly, continuing in his walk down the street, leaving an aggravated Kagome and Yon-Rogg in his wake.

"What an arrogant jerk!" Kagome fumed, clenching her fists at her sides.

"I apologise for-"

"No! It's not you that's being stupid, it's him! You shouldn't be the one apologising." Kagome sighed.

Yon-Rogg exhaled sharply. "I believe I was about to show you the Starforce base."

"Yeah, you were." A smile broke out across her face as she looped her arm with his and allowed him to guide her towards the building, not noticing his shocked expression.

* * *

A day later, he kneeled before the form of his father once more.

"It will be only a few days before she will restore the Supreme Intelligence, correct?"

"Yes." Yon-Rogg nodded. "Despite that supposed Kree elite's mistakes she has still willingly decided to serve the Kree by doing this."

"Perhaps you are not a failure to the Kree, then. Rise, Yon-Rogg." It commanded.

He did so, trying to ignore the pain as he met his father's gaze, knowing that it was not truly his father, but rather the Supreme Intelligence.

"Once the girl has restored the Supreme Intelligence, how will you get her to stay?" The smile on his father's face looked out of place, twisted and entirely unnatural.

"I will offer her the chance to stay here, and I will see to it that she accepts."

"If she refuses, she will be eliminated once her usefulness to the Kree has expired." It said emotionlessly, as if taking a life was as mundane as deciding what to have for breakfast. The Supreme Intelligence was older than Yon-Rogg would ever know, and had undoubtedly performed an uncountable number of executions.

His heart clenched at the thought of a girl as sweet and gentle as Kagome was having her life extinguished simply because she decided she wanted to return home. It was in that instant, that Yon-Rogg began to have his first ever doubts about the Supreme Intelligence.

* * *

"Kagome?" He called out, looking for her in the main body of his apartment before entering his bedroom and finding her once more in a mediative state, her legs crossed, her back straight and her hands settled gently on her knees.

She didn't respond, and he didn't expect her to. As he looked at her in this vulnerable state, his heart began to ache.

He felt the strange urge to protect her from the Supreme Intelligence. She had been through an awful journey to Hala and agreed to help the Kree out of the kindness of her heart. He doubted that she had a shred of evil in her body. Quite the temper, perhaps, but never anything evil. The thought that she would assist the Supreme Intelligence and then be repaid by getting a death sentence unsettled him deeply.

She was much too gentle and compassionate to deserve such a thing.

But even as he looked at her, his traitorous thoughts reminded him that his duty was first and foremost to the Kree and the Supreme Intelligence, not to this girl.

Her eyes fluttered open and she let out a yawn, gasping when she noticed him.

"How long have you been there?" She exhaled, putting a hand to her chest.

"I just got back from my meeting with the Supreme Intelligence."

"Oh? What's its condition?" She asked, leaning forwards, curiosity shining in her enchanting blue eyes.

"Eager." He said wryly. "You look hungry. Allow me to introduce you to Kree food." He gave her a smile, offering a hand to her, which she accepted, and pulling her up and off his bed.

* * *

Precisely eight days from her arrival on Hala, Kagome emerged from Yon-Rogg's room and entered the main room of his apartment, where he was sat on the floor, surrounded by foreign weapons.

"Kagome," He greeted her with a half-smile.

"Woah, what're those?" She looked upon his myriad of weapons with intrigue.

"These," He gestured to his gauntlets, "Are Magnitron gauntlets- they're normally attached to my Starforce suit, but they need repair after Vers and I fought."

"But what do they  _do?_ "

"Anti-gravity," Yon-Rogg answered with a shrug.

"Cool!" She beamed. "I think today's the day!"

"Today's the day for  _what?_ For you to finally admit Kree food is better than human?"

Kagome gave him a mock glare. "I would  _never_ say something like that. You haven't lived until you've tried oden!"

He shook his head. "Denial doesn't look good on you."

She gave his shoulder a playful whack. "I'm not in denial, I'm right! And what I  _meant_ was that today is the day that I finally have enough energy to heal your Supreme Intelligence!"

It felt as if his world had stopped completely, all colour drained from his face.

"Yon-Rogg?" Kagome kneeled in front of him, her concerned blue eyes looking into his. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," He snapped out of his stupor quickly, trying to pretend as if he never faltered in his dedication to the Supreme Intelligence.

"Isn't it great?" She smiled widely, "Your people will be okay!"

"Truly wonderful," Yon-Rogg whispered, not meeting her eyes.

"Should we go now?" She asked, glancing out of the window, noting that it was still light in Hala.

He nodded, standing and pulling her up with him. "You have saved my people." He whispered. He  _should_ have been happy- he had managed to get the subject to agree willingly to restore the Supreme Intelligence. But whenever he thought about it, the threat that the Supreme Intelligence had made was the first thought in his mind. She deserved to be safe, to have the full protection and have the Kree be in debt to her for her services. But the fact that they planned to kill her if she didn't stay their asset forever made his stomach plummet.

"Not yet," Kagome reminded him. "What's the Supreme Intelligence like?"

"It takes the form of the person you admire the most, it can be extremely  _straightforwards_ and inconsiderate at times, but it is artificial intelligence, so it would never understand human emotion." Yon-Rogg explained. "The Kree would fall without the infrastructure it gives us."

"I get it," Kagome nodded, internally relating it to how her phone doesn't understand feelings. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Yes." He said simply, telling himself it was best to serve his people first and unpack the useless emotions plaguing him later. He took her hand in his, savouring the feel of her warm hand pressed into his, and led her down the flight of stairs as he had when he first took her out into the streets of Hala, and onto that same road.

There were twice as many people as there had been the last time she had ventured out into the streets. Most of the people were dressed in dark clothing, mirroring Hala's colour palette.

"The process of meeting the Supreme Intelligence is strange, but you have to not let it get to you." He told her quietly, casting a glance at the bustling people. "It doesn't approve of emotion of any kind, we are taught to ignore our feelings to better serve the Kree. Even though you're not one of us, it'll probably still expect that."

She nodded, "I'm sure I'll be fine. All I got to do is pretend to have a icicle up my ass, right?"

"Right." Yon-Rogg chuckled.

* * *

Kagome was kneeling on the orange tiles of the Supreme Intelligence's headquarters, feeling a mild streak of panic run through her. There were guards positioned at every entrance and exit, their imposing heavy-duty weapons mocking her. Yon-Rogg was the only familiar face among them. As black, thin, wire-like things ran up her legs and over her arms uncomfortably, her eyes met his.

A strange mix of panic and determination that Kagome was well accustomed to were present in hers.

Concern flooded through his.

His worried visage was the last thing she saw before she threw her head back and everything went completely black.

A flash of light quickly replaced the darkness, her surroundings coming into focus. The room itself looked like it was made out of mirrors- there was completely no variation in the environment as far as the eye could see. From above, soft rays of light shone down from the heavens, pooling not just around her, but also around other areas on the strange stormy floor. Kagome looked down at her hands in confusion, recognising them as hers.

"Lady Kagome, we have been waiting for you."

Kagome spun around, finding herself directly opposite a woman she never thought she would meet. The only time she had ever met her was in death.

Her long dark hair descended past her waist, her kind brown eyes looking into Kagome's blue ones. The symbol of four lines in a plus shape on her forehead only further confirmed to Kagome who this woman was.

"Lady Midoriko!" Kagome gasped, looking the woman up and down with wide eyes. She instantly felt foolish saying that name, her thoughts reminding her that this was  _not_ the legendary priestess back from the dead, and was merely a computer-generated impersonation. "You're... the Supreme Intelligence, aren't you?"

The Midoriko look-alike nodded her head. "Welcome, Lady Kagome. It is most pleasing that you are here. We are extremely pleased that you would restore us."

"For the safety and survival of your people, right?" She asked. Although she knew this wasn't truly Midoriko, she couldn't help but wonder if this was how she had really talked and carried herself.

"Precisely. Vers was an incredibly powerful member of our Starforce and we trusted her immensely, but she betrayed the Kree and damaged the Supreme Intelligence, weakening our systems and leaving us vulnerable to attack. She has promised to return and destroy the Kree, and with the current condition of the Supreme Intelligence it is very likely she would succeed."

Kagome felt her heart clench at the thought of the Kree being destroyed, but did not comment on it.

She took in a deep breath. "Why not just ask me instead of dragging me here?" Kagome asked the question that had been bugging her since her forced arrival on Hala. She was more than willing and capable of helping, but the brutally unkind action of tearing her away from her home nagged at her.

"Emotion is unpredictable." Midoriko supplied monotonously. "Especially in residents of planet C-53, such as yourself. Planet C-53 was Vers' home before she joined the Kree and betrayed us for our enemies."

Kagome nodded, understanding what Yon-Rogg had told her about the Supreme Intelligence having no comprehension of emotion. She thought it was sad that it would never be able to truly connect with the Kree. A leader that tells you to repress emotion simply because it cannot understand it would be horrible. Kagome resisted a shudder at the thought of having to act like Sesshomaru all the time.

"I will restore you." Kagome said, the energy that had been building for the previous eight days was closer to eruption than she had thought.

"You are powerful, Lady Kagome." Midoriko nodded once more. "Your service to both the Kree and the Supreme Intelligence is appreciated and noted."

She nodded, feeling the pent up energy writhe within her, begging to be released. She stepped towards Midoriko's body and put her hands gently on her shoulders. "This could hurt-"

"The Supreme Intelligence does not feel pain." The scoff sounded foreign coming from Midoriko's mouth. Kagome had always thought of her as mild-natured, unable to do any wrong or cause even a hint of offence or hurt.

Kagome ignored the comment, closing her eyes and blocking out the Supreme Intelligence's appearance to push her energy out.

Although Kagome couldn't see it, pink light shone from her palms, bathing both her and Midoriko's forms in pink light that danced around the mindscape in small particles that gathered in their most concentrated form at Kagome's hands.

It didn't hurt her, but it was strenuous to call this amount of energy out of her body. In fact, the last time she had attempted a feat like this was the day Naraku was slain. That, like this task, required an immense amount of power that Kagome, with her lack of training, struggled to control and manipulate in the way that she desired.

Midoriko made a satisfied noise. "The systems of the Supreme Intelligence are fully restored, energy is at maximum capacity."

Kagome dropped her hands from the Supreme Intelligence's shoulders and stumbled backwards. Fatigue had already begun to claim her, her limbs becoming heavy and standing up being her biggest challenge.

"The least you could do is say thank you," Kagome murmured, pressing a hand to her spinning head before the dizziness overwhelmed her completely and darkness consumed her, claiming her once more.

* * *

His heart thundered in his chest every moment she was in the mindscape.

Kagome was much too full of emotion for the Supreme Intelligence to approve. He clenched one fist at his side, trying not to let his aggregation show. His eyes travelled down to her hands, which were resting on her knees, in fascination. He had only ever seen something like this when Vers attacked the Supreme Intelligence. Soft pink light came from her palms, as did smaller particles of that energy, which drifted upwards end ventured up her arms.

The lights lasted for a few minutes, and suddenly ceased.

Kagome's eyes remained closed and her body fell backwards, sprawled out on the orange tiles. He walked towards her, ignoring the questioning stares of the two Starforce members guarding the Supreme Intelligence's headquarters. Yon-Rogg pulled Kagome's limp form upwards and lifted her to his chest, tucking one arm under her knees and the other under her back.

He gave a respectful nod to the guards before swiftly exiting the Supreme Intelligence's headquarters, and emerged onto the street. People recognised him- the highly decorated commander of the Starforce with only one glaring blemish on his record. Those that did not know the story of how he survive Vers' brutal attacks were impressed with him, thinking that he had somehow managed to hold her off long enough to return to Hala, and parted like the red sea for him out of respect.

Those that did know the circumstances surrounding his return to Hala from planet C-53 tolerated him far less, and threw him dirty looks. He knew what they were thinking. That he was un-Kree like and unfit for his title.

But he wasn't paying any attention to the people in the streets. No, his mind was focused on the human unconscious in his arms. The first thought that popped into his head was that perhaps the Supreme Intelligence put her in this state because she caused it some offence or told them she didn't want to stay with the Kree forever.

The instant he returned to his apartment, he lay her on the bed and checked her for injuries, noting that there was a light bruise on her chest from the dart delivered by the Kree elite eight days prior.

She seemed to be in a deep, peaceful slumber, never once stirring or even showing the slightest signs of movement.

Yon-Rogg sat down on the bed next to her, worried. He was worried not just for her, but that her bubbly and compassionate nature was affecting him more than it should have. She was, after all, just a way of restoring the Supreme Intelligence to its former glory. But if that was the case then why did the thought of her coming to harm make him question his loyalty to the Kree? She was supposed to be just another mission, another asset for the Kree. But in a very short span of time she had shifted his views. He used to be devoted entirely to the Kree and their goal. Now, he was questioning everything.

If the Supreme Intelligence was willing to harm  _Kagome,_ who in Yon-Rogg's eyes had never done anything but be the purest being in existence, then how far was it willing to go to achieve total Kree domination of the galaxies?

She didn't seem like she was waking up any time soon. As much as he wanted to stay with her for longer, he decided to train to release his pent up frustrations. Within an instant of him pulling his Magnitron gauntlets over his hands, objects in the room began to float, lifting a metre or so off the ground before crashing loudly back to the floor.

He had always been told that emotion was a terrible thing to show.

So, he buried those warm feelings deep down for the time being, and forced himself to focus on recalibrating his weapons and sharpening his senses.

* * *

Kagome slept for a grand total of three days, before waking up in a daze.

"Yon-Rogg?" She groaned, clutching a hand to her head and sitting up on his bed.

He was by her side in an instant, rushing into his bedroom. "Kagome, I see you've  _finally_ decided to wake up."

"What do you  _mean_ finally? How did I get here? Wasn't I just with the Supreme Intelligence a second ago?"

He shook his head, a small smile on his face. "You've been out for three days. It took five of us to carry you back here."

"Very funny." She narrowed her eyes at him. "For real, three days?"

"Yes," He nodded with a sigh.

"Hey, did I do alright? Is your Supreme Intelligence or whatever healed?" She asked, mock anger dropped from her visage in lieu of genuine concern.

"It is," He said softly, "How was it?"

Kagome shrugged. "Tiring, apparently. The Supreme Intelligence takes on the form of whoever you respect the most, huh?"

In her mind, it being Midoriko made perfect sense. While she indeed respected other people, there was nobody she admired as much as the legendary priestess that battled for seven days and seven nights to save humans, accidentally creating the sacred jewel in the process.

When she really thought about it, it seemed manipulative to her. You were far more likely to take orders from the person you admired the most than a computer screen. Perhaps that's why it did it. Using the face of a loved one against you to persuade you to abandon your emotions and follow the Supreme Intelligence's orders without question. She could never even consider blocking out her feelings. It would be torture for her, yet for Yon-Rogg and the rest of the Kree it was a commandment.

Something about that Supreme Intelligence seemed off to her. It could have been the cold attitude it displayed or the simple lack of thanks for her services, but something rubbed Kagome the wrong way. Either way, it was done now. The Supreme Intelligence was healed and the Kree were saved.

"I can't thank you enough." Yon-Rogg smiled, forcing himself to say those words. Dread nagged at him, the constant thought that Kagome could be  _killed_ for wanting to be a free person rather than the Kree's asset plagued him incessantly.

"I'm just happy that your people will be safe now." She smiled, bringing a hand up to her face as she yawned.

"Even after three days worth of sleep you're still tired?"

"Hey!" Kagome protested. "It took up a  _lot_ of my energy. It was tiring using that much power in one go! I'd kinda become used to having so much power all the time, now it just feels like I don't have any. At least until I meditate again, but that hurts my back and my legs."

"Kagome?" He said hesitantly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She turned to him slowly. There was now a serious and sombre tone to his voice that hadn't been there before. "Yeah?"

Yon-Rogg took in a deep breath, his golden brown eyes, full of concern, met her blue ones. "Would you consider staying on Hala for a while longer?"

Kagome thought about it for a moment. Her family would be worried. But... her life outside the Feudal Era, without the sacred jewel or a land with roaming demonic entities, had become awfully boring. It was quite the shock for her, going from battle back to high school and being expected to act as if it had no effect on her.

"Sure," She nodded. "If you can let my family know I'm safe, I really don't want Mama to worry."

"Of course." He said quickly. Contacting her family was a small price to pay for both her company and extending her life.

"Besides," She nudged him playfully. "You'd miss me if I left."

"I'm not sure I would," His lips twitched upwards.

"Denial doesn't look good on you," Kagome used his very own words against him.

* * *

A few days later, Yon-Rogg entered his apartment, dressed in his Starforce uniform, having just received the full mission report of a fellow Kree commander that was sent to make contact with Kagome's family on planet C-53. The Supreme Intelligence was practically willing to authorise any mission that would help further their goal of making Kagome their asset.

"Kagome?" He called out, his eyes scanning the room for her form.

"Here," She called back, sauntering into the main room of his apartment from his bedroom.

"Are you busy?"

She rolled her pretty blue eyes. "Am I ever?"

"I'll take that as a 'no' then." Yon-Rogg sighed. "Contact has been successfully made with your family and they are now aware of your situation."

"Oh, goodie." Kagome laughed. "Mama'll be thrilled I'm in the middle of space with a bunch of aliens that kidnapped me."

"If  _I_ was your mother I'd be elated if aliens came and took you away." He chuckled.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" She flushed, folding her arms over her chest indignantly.

He didn't respond, preferring to flash her an arrogant smirk.

"And what's up with the outfit?" Her eyes travelled down and back up his body, before settling on his face.

"Ah, Starforce business." Yon-Rogg answered vaguely, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Kagome raised her eyebrows. "Keeping secrets isn't nice, you know."

"Since when have I ever been nice?" He retorted.

She tapped a finger against her chin in thought. "Well, there was that time you carried me all the way back here after I healed the Supreme Intelligence, I'd say that was pretty nice."

"That wasn't just me, there were four other people helping lug your body back," He teased.

"There wasn't and you know it," Kagome prodded an accusatory finger into his chest.

He shook his head. "I've just been offered a mission to a remote planet, E-74, for information extraction on behalf of our allies."

"Does that mean you're leaving me?" She frowned, her full lips changing from their smile to a childish pout.

"You wouldn't let me leave, you'd miss me too much." Yon-Rogg said with a half-grin. "You could come with me, if you want. It was supposed to be a solo mission and I was considering turning it down, but if you came with me I wouldn't have to."

Her blue eyes flashed with curiosity. "What exactly is this mission?"

"Our allies, the Accusers-"

"That's a pretty scary name," Kagome interjected.

"They're pretty formidable people." Yon-Rogg replied with a nod of his head. "The Accusers have found people with information they want. These people are willing to sell their information to the highest bidder. They hate the Kree and the Accusers, so it is important we don't give away our identities when interacting with them. We just buy our information and leave- maybe we can take a look at the nearby planets."

"Sounds great!" Kagome said excitedly. The galaxy was a big place- the thought of having more planets to explore and therefore more adventures to have made her heart swell with glee.

"So you'll come with me to planet E-74?"

"Is that even a question?" Kagome rolled her eyes. "When do we leave?"

"I think tomorrow will be good enough, don't you?"

"I can't wait!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around him.

He couldn't help but wrap his arms around her in return, relishing at the feel of her pressed to him.

* * *

"How does this thing even work?" She prodded the communicator built into the Starforce uniform with some suspicion.

"It's not difficult," Yon-Rogg sighed, grabbing her hand so that she could no longer mess with her suit, and guided her through the streets once more.

She took in Hala once more- the busy people of all different alien species and origin, the towering buildings and the prominent green and black colour scheme that was repeated in everything the Kree did.

He paused in his stride at a black wall, with a mechanical-looking box adjacent to it. He quickly recited a code, the wall opening with a 'whoosh' to reveal the inside of the hangar.

"What was that?" Kagome was looking back over her shoulder at the artificial intelligence.

"The guard," He answered, "It's just an A.I."

"Just an A.I," She did a terrible impression of him, making his voice far too high. "You know, back on Earth, we have humans to do guard work."

Kagome turned her head, her eyes widening considerably as she looked around the hangar.

The last time Yon-Rogg had been here was the day that Kagome arrived, kicking and screaming, on Hala. The hangar had been completely empty then, but now it was teeming with Starforce members returning and departing from and to missions outside of Hala.

Sleek black jets and fighter planes were lined up in soldier-like rows, with the occasional one missing.

"This one's ours," He flashed her a grin as the ramp of a high-tech jet descended. Kagome walked up the ramp, surveying everything inside the small ship with curious eyes. She quickly found the controls, her fingers lightly brushing against them.

"You'll launch missiles if you're not careful," Yon-Rogg said as the ramp began to close. "It's quite the journey to planet E-74, buckle up."

Kagome sat in the chair next to him at the front of the aircraft, the seatbelt crossing over her body in an 'X' shape. "How long a journey are we talking here?"

"Fourteen hours," He replied casually, flipping a few switches and adjusting some of the controls with ease, as if he had been doing it for his entire life. He probably had been.

Kagome groaned. "Too long."

He shook his head, "We're clear for takeoff."

The force of the plane leaving the ground and surging into the air sent Kagome further backwards into the leather pilot's chair.

"At least I'm in a seat this time," She grumbled to herself, white hot anger flashing through her as she thought about her journey to Halla. "That red jerk just slapped some cuffs on me and left me to float about!"

"And I take it you weren't thrilled about that?"

"Of course not!" She roared indignantly. "They just left me there! As if it wasn't rude enough to just snatch me from my house and push me into a ship they left me to float about back there for  _hours."_

Yon-Rogg sighed. "And yet you survived."

"And now I'm here to annoy you."

* * *

"I'm bored!"

Kagome had long since abandoned her seat by Yon-Rogg, deciding that floating around the ship with her hands free would be much more enjoyable than being confined to a chair.

"And you think I'm not?"

She wrinkled her nose at him, flying slowly to float just behind him and anchor herself to him by putting her hands on his shoulders. "How do you do this all the time?"

"I spent the entire journey checking our weapons and keeping updated with the battles. Undercover work is something I haven't done in a while." He admitted, "You may want to sit back down now, we're entering planet E-74's atmosphere."

"Finally!" She cheered, floating over to her seat and buckling herself back in.

"We'll be landing on the outskirts of their civilisation, and then we'll work our way towards the informants."

"What kind of information are we even looking for?" She asked, clicking her knuckles.

"Information on powerful artefacts that the Accusers want," Yon-Rogg supplied. "If we are asked, we are humans from Terra."

Kagome cocked an eyebrow. "Where's that?"

"Another name for  _your_ planet, planet C-53. Only Kree refer to planets by letter and number, the rest of the galaxy give them names." Yon-Rogg explained with a shrug. "The only planet we have given a name is Hala."

"Go figure," She rolled her eyes. As they descended through orange and yellow clouds high in the bright blue sky, Kagome could see a city, built in a circular shape with high walls surrounding it and even higher skyscrapers inside.

The plane landed smoothly on desert sand outside the city, sand dunes surrounding them for miles, with the only civilisation being the booming circular city.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Yon-Rogg said.

"Fourteen hours is a long time." Kagome shrugged.

"Apparently our disguises have been left in the back of the jet-" He began, pausing as Kagome bolted out of her seat to go look for said disguises. It didn't take her long to find them and she wondered how she didn't notice when she was flying around earlier. There were two separate black bags- one labelled 'Commander Yon-Rogg', and the other simply labelled 'Kagome'.

Kagome picked up her bag, quickly rifling through it and eyeing the garments in annoyance. "Oh, come on!"

* * *

Half an hour later and Kagome was wearing a black skirt even shorter, if possible, than her old green school one, paired with some boots and a lacy black shirt.

"I'm going to be having a few  _words_ with whoever thought this was okay," Kagome fumed, her fists clenched at her sides.

Yon-Rogg laughed at her, lounging in his seat dressed in a black muscle t-shirt and jeans. "Isn't this what people on planet C-53 wear?"

"Some of them, maybe!" Kagome exclaimed. "But not me!"

"I think that you're worried because you don't know how to walk in those." He eyed her heeled boots with a smirk on his face.

"I don't think you know how to walk in these either!" She huffed. "If you want to swap outfits I'm all for it."

"Somehow I don't think it'd look as good on me as it does on you."

Kagome blushed, folding her arms over her chest and looking away. "I'm ready to leave if you are."

"Let's go, then." He nodded, standing up and walking over to the back of the ship and pressing a button, the ramp descending a few seconds later.

"That sure is a lotta sand," Kagome remarked, making her way down the ramp and into the sand, her feet sinking uncomfortably into it. "Oh man, I can already tell there's gonna be sand everywhere after this."

"We get into the city via those gates," He pointed at a pair of iron gates, guarded by two men dressed in all-silver body armour, that seemed to be the only entrance to the booming city.

She nodded, wondering what type of place this is- perhaps it was like Tokyo, or New York, or even Hala, where aliens of different races were all united under the Kree.

"We meet with our informants at the Dibyre Club on the outskirts of the city." He supplied. "I don't know what planet C-53 is like, but here on planet E-74, it is  _far_ from tame."

"Oh man, is that why I'm dressed like a prostitute?"

He laughed, "Perhaps."

Kagome groaned. "Next time  _you_ get to be the prostitute. I can barely walk in the sand with these heels!" As if to prove her point, she slipped, her face nearly colliding with the fine sand. Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her up and making her face him.

"Maybe you just need more practice?" He suggested with a raised eyebrow, forcing himself to release her and let her stand on her own, as much as he wanted to keep holding her.

Kagome huffed, looking away and continuing on her trek across the sand, Yon-Rogg following closely behind her.

"Remember, we're from Terra." Yon-Rogg reiterated, as they began to come within the vicinity of the gates and the guards stationed beside them.

Kagome looked up at the guards, giving the one closest to her a small smile, which he returned with a stern glare. She narrowed her eyes in return.

They wore full silver body armour, reflecting the light of the sun. The one that had glared at Kagome was clearly the younger one, with pale skin, messy brown hair that came to his shoulders and a rather agitated expression on his face. The other guard simply looked like the colour beige personified: completely boring. He looked fed up with his job and like he would leave the second he got the chance.

"Identification." The other, older guard demanded monotonously. Kagome had never seen someone look so bored in her entire life.

Yon-Rogg held up a piece of paper to the guards, which the older one nodded at, turning to open the iron gates with a loud creek. Yon-Rogg took Kagome's hand in his and brought her through the gate after him into the city.

"What was that?" Kagome asked, looking at the piece of paper he was stuffing carelessly into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Forged identification, to get us in here." He replied, turning his head away from hers to survey their new surroundings.

"Ah." Kagome nodded. She too looked at the city. The buildings on the far side of the city were huge, with flashing billboards on them in a language that Kagome couldn't understand, most likely the language of the inhabitants of this planet. This side of the city, though, had smaller buildings with far less floors on them, most only being two stories tall at most. There were still flashing lights on these buildings, advertising what each one sold.

"That's where our informants are." Yon-Rogg nodded towards a building, one without a second floor. It was made of grey bricks, with small windows that were made of coloured glass- their chosen colour being orange. There were two neon orange signs illuminating the street, the first being one of a drink and the second being one of a woman's silhouette with her hands placed on her hips.

He released her hand to push open the door, made entirely from a lightweight opaque orange material. He held it open for her, allowing Kagome to enter the Dibyre Club first.

The music was blaring loudly, already making her wince. She had not heard it from outside, and it was impossible to ignore it while inside. The heavy bass made her head pound, and she pressed a hand to her head before trying and failing to block out the music by simply pretending it wasn't playing. The main colour scheme of the Dibyre Club seemed to be blue and orange, with blue and orange lights flickering on and off constantly. To her left was a bar, a man behind it with scaled green skin, or so she presumed. It wasn't easy to determine the colour of anything with the lights changing colour and flickering.

There weren't many people there, with only a group of about five human-looking individuals on what Kagome thought was the dance floor. Around the edges of the club were booths, mostly uninhabited. What really caught Kagome's eye was the end of the club. There was a raised platform, with twelve women frozen in their position on it. Three of those women were chained to the ground like dogs, with a spiked collar around their necks and wearing very little clothing.

"Our informants are there." He put a hand on her back, guiding her towards a booth with two men sitting down, their faces concealed by holding menus to them.

The man sat opposite Kagome lowered his menu and set it to the table, revealing his face. His skin was yellow, with deep crevices all over it and what Kagome assumed to be a healing wound across his neck, with some black stitches holding it together. His dark eyes roamed over Kagome's body and towards her male companion. The second man lowered his menu, his skin being a deep pink colour. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair, which reached his cheekbones. This man had a more calm look on this face than the other, who simply looked angered.

"The whore leaves." The first man tilted his head in Kagome's direction, his gaze focused on Yon-Rogg.

"She's with me." He replied smoothly.

"I'm not a whore," Kagome bit out, narrowing her eyes at him, fury raging within her. In all honesty, she looked like she was going to lash out and beat the man into the ground for his comment.

"Feisty," The pink man remarked, smirking at Kagome. "She can stay."

The honey-coloured man looked to his associate in distaste. "Fine."

"Onto our business," The man smiled. "You can call me Perfuga and my friend here is Lucrum." He gestured to the yellow man.

"You want our information on the Infinity Stones, yes?" Lucrum said.

Yon-Rogg nodded. "Yes."

"Forty thousand units," Lucrum demanded. "Nothing less."

Yon-Rogg didn't even bat an eye at the absurdly high amount. "Fine. The units will be transferred to your account."

"Now, if you will." Perfuga drawled, glancing back at Kagome. "What's a pretty, fiery little thing like you doing  _here,_ on Yakarre, in the Dibyre Club of all places?"

"I've already told you, she's with me." Yon-Rogg repeated, pulling out a device that reminded Kagome a lot of the confusing communicators, to transfer the units to Lucrum. Lucrum did the same, eagerly awaiting the units transferring into his pocket.

Yon-Rogg looked at his communicator with a frown, his head quickly snapping upwards so that he could meet Kagome's questioning gaze.

"Perhaps you're not a regular whore, you're a  _Kree_ whore!" Lucrum snarled, standing up with his fists clenched.

_'You've been compromised. Abort mission.'_ The message from the Accusers flashed on the screen, although it was too late.

Lucrum reached for the blaster holstered on his hip, Perfuga standing up beside him, a smug sneer on his face.

Kagome reached immediately as Lucrum fired a blast, throwing herself and Yon-Rogg to the ground to avoid getting hit. They both stood up quickly, and she turned around. The chair she had been sat on seconds ago was missing a large chunk of the cushion, the smell of singed wood and leather reaching her nose.

"Did we get the units from those Kree fuckers?" Perfuga growled, now equipped with his own blaster and aiming it squarely at Kagome.

"No! Damn it!" Lucrum cursed, firing another shot at Kagome, who stumbled backwards, a glare on her face.

"We need to go," Yon-Rogg grabbed her by the arm, pulling her towards the orange door of the Dibyre Club desperately. "We're out armed."

More shots rained down at them. These weapons were nothing like the ones that Kagome had seen before. They fired pure dazzling white energy at their target, annihilating everything in their path. The women that had once been standing perfectly still atop the platform were now running, hiding and the three chained down were trying to escape, attempting to pull their chains from the ground or take off their collars.

Lucrum hissed something to Perfuga, who nodded back, and rushed forwards, shooting rapidly at Kagome and Yon-Rogg, who were just reaching the doorway. There were no objects to take the hit for them this time, nothing to hide behind or use as a shield.

Kagome's entire world seemed to slow down, as she raised her arms in front of her in a protective 'X' shape. Power flooded out from her, an intense pink glow encompassing her arms. The energy blast hit, the white and pink energies dancing together for a split second before Kagome lowered her arms and both were gone, leaving behind just her, standing at the door to the Dibyre Club looking down at her arms, confused but awfully impressed with herself.

Yon-Rogg pulled her closer to him, practically forcing them both out of the door. They sprinted down the street, the occasional blast of white energy soaring past them.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Kagome smiled at him.

He didn't reply, simply pulling her towards the iron gate that they entered the city through. The guards gave them puzzled looks, before opening the gate and with a loud screech.

They rushed through the desert-like environment, Kagome not even bothering to complain about the sand or how she was about to fall over. They made it to the jet, the ramp lowering instantaneously. They dashed on board, Kagome quickly looking over her shoulder to see the two informants pursuing them, with an additional five people, all dressed in royal blue clothes with black body armour and silver helmets.

The ramp closed behind them.

"If I were you I'd sit down, it seems like we're going to have a rough takeoff." Yon-Rogg bit out, sitting in the leather pilot's chair and flipping numerous switches, before taking the controls of the plane in his hands.

Kagome sat down beside him, constantly glancing at the chaos. The men had began to surround the ship, all pointing their weapons at it threateningly. She could barely hear one of the men in blue yell 'surrender.'

"Pathetic." Yon-Rogg scoffed as the ship began to leave the ground, sand swirling in the air from the wind created by the ship.

"Let's get outta here before it gets any worse," Kagome groaned as the ship went higher in the air at a very fast speed. "Do all your missions go like this?"

"I think it may only be because you're here," He drawled. "Of course they don't all go this badly. We'd been compromised from the beginning, I believe."

"How?"

He sighed. "We were probably found out by some spies that knew the Accusers would be sending a representative. Next time I get offered a mission, you're not coming with me."

"What?" Kagome snapped, turning quickly to look at him, her fists already clenched.

"You haven't been trained and you could have been injured." He breathed unevenly- it had been a close call, if not for those strange abilities of hers that the Supreme Intelligence so desired, then she would undoubtedly have died.

Her eyes softened. "But I  _wasn't_ injured. I'm fine, we're both fine."

Yon-Rogg flipped another two switches, one turning the artificial gravity on and the other putting the ship on autopilot. "That's not the point."

"And what if I wasn't here and  _you_ were injured?" She turned his own argument onto him just as easily.

He didn't respond, merely staring straight ahead and into the cosmos before them. Kagome huffed, quickly unbuckling her seatbelt and striding over to him. She put a hand under his chin and turned his face to make him look at her.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." She admitted in a whisper. And truthfully, she didn't. As much as she despised being dragged off her planet and into the middle of  _space_ for god's sake, she was thankful that it happened. Her life on earth had been steadily losing meaning to her with her travels to the Feudal era having ended, and she found herself constantly looking for purpose. She was thrilled to help when she had the opportunity to, even if she didn't show it. And even when she had completed her task and healed the Supreme Intelligence, he offered her purpose by taking her on a mission.

Yon-Rogg's heart started beating all too fast for his liking. He was never  _supposed_ to have feelings, lest he be anything but the perfect Kree soldier. This beautiful, compassionate woman from C-53 had started as just a way to earn back the trust of the Supreme Intelligence. But his traitorous heart found her to be so much more than a mission. Before, he wouldn't have batted an eye when the Supreme Intelligence said it would kill someone for going against its wishes. But when that person was Kagome, he found himself full of anger at the thought of her being injured, or worse, killed.

"I'm sorry, for everything." He replied quietly.

"You don't need to apologise," She shook her head with a smile.

Yon-Rogg found himself unable to meet her gaze. "I do. I put you in danger the second I accepted the mission to persuade you to heal the Supreme Intelligence." He took in a deep breath. "It could have killed you if you tried to leave or defied it."

Kagome merely looked concerned. Stranger things had happened to her than some artificial intelligence having a secret agenda.

"I never realised until," His mouth went dry, "It said it would kill you if you tried to leave. So, I tried to make you stay."

"You just wanted to protect me." She whispered, a sincere smile on her face as she looked down at him.

He stood up, sliding his hands down to Kagome's waist. "Perhaps Vers was right. The Supreme Intelligence has become distorted and lost the moral compass it used to have. It wanted to kill  _you,_ and you did the Kree a great service." He seethed. The second he touched her, he stopped caring about how un-Kree like he was being and began to further open himself up to the notion that the Supreme Intelligence was not, in fact, benefiting the galaxy in any way. The fact that it would kill the kind and caring Kagome was a testament of that.

She blushed at the feel of his hands against her body. "Yon-"

"I don't want you to go back there," Yon-Rogg interrupted her. "I can't let you be there knowing you could die."

Kagome rested her head against his chest.

"I'd really rather you not die."

"I'd really rather you not die too." Kagome laughed into his chest.

"I like you too much to let you go back there." He sighed.

Kagome looked up at him, blue eyes meeting golden brown. "I like you too, dummy."

Yon-Rogg looked down at the woman in his arms with warmth. "Then I think we should leave the Kree, I doubt they'll even miss us much since they're focusing on finding Vers. With any luck they'll think she killed us."

"And where would we go?"

He gave her a smirk. "Planet C-53 sounds good to me. Maybe I'll even try your precious oden, though I don't think it can compare to Kree food." He released her momentarily, quickly removing the tracking chip located in all Kree spacecrafts and crushing it between his fingers, before once again wrapping his arms around Kagome.

"Really?" Happiness shone through her eyes. "It's far better, trust me you'll see."

"I doubt I'm wanted on planet C-53, but-"

"I'll protect you." Kagome promised, pulling his face down to hers to meet his lips in a passionate kiss.

And so, Kagome Higurashi moved onto her next adventure.

* * *


	2. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes (MCU)

Love Affairs

Chapter two:

Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier) (MCU)

9:43 AM, Japan, Kagome's Office - Sunday

"A new case you want me to take on?" Kagome frowned, looking up from her clipboard to the former Lieutenant General. "Ross, I have a lot of cases."

"Girly, I can promise you none as are high profile as this." He replied, dumping a thick file with the words 'top secret' stamped across it with red ink onto her desk.

Kagome looked at the closed file curiously, slowly picking it up. "Who is it?"

"The Winter Solider." He answered with a simple nod of his head. "Surely by now you've heard we successfully took that bastard, along with Captain Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, the Falcon, into custody earlier this week in Bucharest."

"I have." She said, opening the file to the first page, which simply featured a picture of James Barnes taken a few years ago, alongside a copy of his birth certificate.

"Then you'll know we wouldn't put just anyone on this." Ross sighed. "Higurashi, you're the best at what you do. The Japanese government has said it and Fury has said it. Because of those powers of yours," He spat, "The subjects just can't help but to open themselves up to you, and by extension, us. We need to find out the true extent of his crimes, how much he knows about Hydra's operations and exactly what kind of threat he poses to us. It is integral to the safety of not just American citizens, but to people worldwide."

That really caught Kagome's attention, despite her annoyance of Ross' inaccurate summarisation of her abilities. One man, with as far as she knew no powers, was such a high threat to the world's safety that Ross would show up on the doorstep of her office and practically beg, by his standards, for her to take the case? That was interesting. The mention of public safety being in jeopardy pulled at her heart. Although it had been a long time since she was actively involved in missions, or even anything to do with defending any nation, she couldn't help but feel bound to protect the earth - it had been her job for an awfully long time. She frowned, before quickly coming to a conclusion.

"I'll do it."

"Atta girl," Ross gave her a grin. "The United Nations need you to evaluate him- do whatever, I don't care. But get as much information out of him as you can, Higurashi."

Kagome merely blinked at him.

"I'll have a jet pick you up in two days, with any luck you'll only be evaluating Barnes for a few weeks before the UN put him on trial." Ross informed her with a shrug. "I do appreciate you doing this, Higurashi. I've got to admit, I never truly saw the appeal of your 'soothing' and 'healing' powers until now." He gave her a respectful nod. "Goodbye, Doctor Higurashi." And with that, he was out of her office.

As Kagome read through his file she found herself growing more concerned. The guy had been brainwashed by a bunch of Nazis and used by Hydra since world war two- that was more than enough to permanently screw up somebody's mental state. There really was no telling just how unstable he could possibly be. And she had just willingly agreed to be the one to evaluate him.

"Oh, man." Kagome groaned. "Let's hope Ross was being honest and this really will save lives, or at least improve his. Geez, he's spent so much of his life under the influence of Hydra I'd be surprised if he can even think properly."

01:55 PM, Vienna - Tuesday

A meagre two days later and Kagome arrived in Vienna. The gentleman that flew the jet all the way from Japan to Vienna was fortunately kind enough to give Kagome directions to the centre that her newest subject was located.

For a few years now she had worked with criminals. Initially after her travels to the Feudal Era ended and her high school career was over she was thrilled to be approached by an organisation called 'S.H.I.E.L.D'. She travelled all over the world, taking part in missions for them simply because she believed it would benefit the world, which really was all that she wanted to do. But after a while, the sights and sounds of battle became overwhelming. It was far too similar to the last day she spent in the Feudal Era, surrounded by dying comrades as they desperately tried to defeat Naraku. Kagome found that she had watched a few too many people die.

So, she turned her attentions elsewhere. Her energy was soothing, and with some training, she became able to utilise it in a calming type of therapy that she used to assist her in making evaluations of criminals. She always had considered herself a fairly good judge of character. She had honed her craft over time, calling forth those abilities hidden deep within her was the most challenging of all. The years had been kind to her, while she had watched her friends begin to age, she remained young, forever bound to the cursed jewel seated between her collarbones.

Kagome shook her head. The present was no time for reminiscing about the past. She looked ahead of her, the streets and people all seemed to look the same, and despite the directions from the pilot she still couldn't shake the feeling she was lost.

A rhythmic chanting disturbed her as she tried to look for a signpost- not that they would likely have 'Joint Counter Terrorist Centre' signposted. As she kept walking, the chanting slowly turned to shouting and screaming.

She turned a corner, making her way onto a new street. She had been taking left turns for quite some time, the pilot had said 'keep left', so surely one of her left turns was bound to lead her to her desired destination, right? This street was far different to the others she had been down previously.

There was a looming building ahead, with large grey watchtowers with glass bridges connecting them. One side of the facility looked to be offices, with large open windows, while the other side almost looked to be like a fortress.

The reason for the chanting and screeching she had heard earlier soon became apparent. A massive mob of enraged people were blocking the entrance to the building, some holding signs that clearly indicated what they wanted, as if their angry screams weren't enough.

"Kill him!"

"Execute the bastard!"

"Murderer!"

Were among the cries. As Kagome's eyes darted from sign to sign she quite quickly connected the dots.

"Bingo," Kagome whispered to herself. She had found not only her building, but also realised how deeply the public must hate this man for a crowd of this size to be gathered around the place he was detained. She fought her way through the crowd, fending off whacks from arms and elbows to make it to the gate, where a security guard gave her an annoyed look.

"Look, telling us you want that Soldier guy dead ain't gonna change anything. I want him dead just as much as yous." The guard sighed.

"I'm here for the evaluation," Kagome told him. "Kagome Higurashi." Her hands fumbled in her pockets for a second before she revealed an identification card, which he quickly scanned.

"All clear, ma'am." He nodded, letting her through the gate.

A surge of people ran after her, also intent on making it into the facility, although they were swiftly stopped by the security guard.

02:05 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Tuesday

"Higurashi."

The first person to greet her was, unsurprisingly, former Lieutenant General Ross.

"Ross," Kagome smiled. "Vienna's quite beautiful, I wish I could've been before."

"Unfortunately, you're not here for sightseeing." He grumbled. "As I'm sure you already know, this case is important to a lot of people. Your evaluation must be extremely accurate. It's not just my reputation that's on the line if you screw up, it's the reputation of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Japanese government for recommending you."

"I get it." Kagome nodded, looking behind Ross to inspect the room they were in. Cars and shipments were coming and going from the room- it seemed to be a hub of action. The room was huge, completely grey with few windows.

"Just make sure he's in a good condition to stand trial, use those weird powers of yours on him a few times and I'm sure he'll be ready for the UN in only a few weeks."

"Sure." She nodded again.

"Right this way," Ross turned on his heel and began striding out of the room, Kagome trailing closely behind him. "They keep him in the most secure place possible." They stormed through what seemed like identical hallways, before arriving outside a closed door. That hallway was lined with similar doors, however, only the one to their left was guarded.

"Isn't he in the one with the guards?" Kagome frowned. If the man were truly that dangerous, he should be guarded at all times. Ross quickly scanned his card to unlock the door, before turning back to Kagome.

"He is. Room fifteen has the highest security in the entire building. But I want you to observe him first, so you know what you're dealing with." He told her with a nod, opening the door for her.

The room was as all the others were. Meaning it was completely grey and devoid of any liveliness. Not that you would expect anything less from a facility like this. It was simply a completely empty cuboid with one wall to her right comprising of one-way glass.

"That's him." Ross nodded towards the glass. Kagome spun around, peering into the room next door that they were viewing through the glass. That room was equally as grey as the others, but far less empty than the one she was currently in. In the centre of the room was what looked like a sophisticated cage. It had glass walls, with reinforced steel holding them together. In the centre of that pod was none other than her case.

James Barnes, the Winter Soldier. His head was hung, his long hair hiding his face from view. He was dressed casually, in a maroon t-shirt with a black shirt underneath. He was also completely restrained at the wrists, shoulders and legs, with there being one extra restraint on his metal arm. Never in her life had Kagome come into contact with a prisoner so highly restrained.

"Surely the cage would have been enough," Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"With him, there's no such thing as too safe." Ross told her. "If we didn't restrain him, there would be two punches to that glass and he would be out. While he may not necessarily have any so-called superpowers, he is exceptionally strong. We can't underestimate him. He did, after all, kill twelve people in Vienna with that damn bomb."

Kagome's eyes widened. "He did that?"

Thaddeus stuffed his hands in his pockets. "He is dangerous, Higurashi. Remember that."

"I will." She replied.

"You start as soon as you're ready." Ross gestured to the room through the glass. "The guards know who you are. Oh, here's your security card, it gives you high level clearance. That ID card was only enough to get you through the entrance of the building, this'll give you complete access to Barnes' online files and most of what we have on Hydra, as well as letting you into the offices." Ross handed her a white card, similar to the one he used to unlock the door to the observation room. "I trust that your accommodation is sorted."

"It is." Kagome sighed, thinking of the small apartment she had decided to take up in Vienna- completely barren of any furniture except the bed and oven, both of which were far from being in prime condition.

"Since you're sorted, I'll leave you to it." Ross made for the door, pausing as he opened it. "Higurashi, I trust you more than the other candidates, and I hope to God you don't screw this up." With that final remark, he left, leaving Kagome alone in the observation room.

She huffed, tossing her head back indignantly despite the fact Ross wasn't there to watch it. "The guy has the nerve to beg me to take his case then demand I don't screw it up! Then again, Ross always has been a bit of a jerk." She muttered to herself, turning her attention to the clipboard in her hands, on top of which was Barnes' file.

She looked from it to the form of the man in the pod. "Brainwashed by Hydra, huh? Who knows how much of that stuff is still in your head." Kagome whispered empathetically. "You should be free now, and if you were in hiding why kill those UN people? Why draw that attention on to yourself if you're trying to hide?" She narrowed her eyes as she read through the file, each report only leaving her with more questions.

"I guess I'll start right away," Kagome shrugged, exiting through the same door that Thaddeus Ross had only minutes before, and ending up in the hallway outside. She looked to the doorway to her left, a sealed steel door guarded by two men wearing a black uniform with khaki green kevlar vests and body armour over the top of it, along with green helmets.

"Doctor Higurashi?" One of the men stated her name, although it seemed more like a question.

Kagome nodded, her eyes dropping briefly down to their heavy weaponry before meeting his gaze. "Nice to meet you, and really, it's just Kagome."

"Well then, just Kagome, you're all clear to enter. Just scream and we'll be there- or better yet, pull the alarm if anything happens. That'll let you out the room and alert every officer that something's gone wrong." He told her, as the doors slowly opened.

"Thanks," She smiled, slowly walking into the room, barely registering the doors closing behind her, leaving her alone with her newest case.

His head snapped up instantly.

Kagome walked forwards confidently. "Mr. Barnes, I'm Doctor Higurashi, but you can just call me Kagome."

He didn't respond, just continuing to gaze at her from within the 'restraint cube' as Kagome had mentally dubbed it. She groaned inwardly.

"I'm evaluating you on behalf of the UN," She told him. "Thaddeus Ross asked me to." That she spat out, failing to keep a glare off her face. That man wasn't even in the military anymore and still gave orders like he was the Lieutenant General and everybody else were the unfortunate soldiers that had to follow his orders.

"Anyway..." She trailed off, returning her attention to Barnes. "I'm guessing you're not much of a talker, hmm?"

"I don't even know where to start," Kagome admitted. "You don't remember much of your past?"

Once more, he didn't give her a response.

Kagome paused in her train of thought, flicking through his file to the very back page- the most recent development in his life. "The bombing of the Vienna International Centre."

His eyes seemed to harden. "I didn't do it."

Kagome frowned, taken aback. It hadn't really made sense to her either- but everybody seemed to certain that it had to be him. Surely there must have been some evidence- she'd had criminals claim they were innocent in the past when the complete opposite turned out to be true, but there was just something about that look in his eyes that resonated with her. This man had been through hell and back, that much she was sure of just by reading his file.

She didn't ask him any more questions, preferring just to sit in silence and read through the file so that he could at least get used to her presence.

She gathered her belongings in her arms, closing his file and holding it to her chest.

"Goodbye, Mr. Barnes, I'll see you soon." Kagome gave him a cheery smile before politely knocking on the metal door, which opened for her and closed a split second after, leaving her in the hallway.

04:37 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Tuesday

She found herself wandering the halls for quite some time, they all looked identical to her and in all honesty she had no clue how to get out, not that she was really trying. Instead, she was engrossed in her thoughts, the idea of an innocent person being wrongly convicted always resonated deeply with her.

Suddenly, a man's body slammed into hers, sending them both to the floor.

Kagome groaned. "Oh, I'm so sorry." She winced before opening her eyes, finding a man in a white lab coat with brown hair and thick rimmed spectacles pulling himself off the ground.

He looked at her for a few moments, as if he were carefully considering his words. "I'm looking for room fifteen. The patient I'm evaluating is in there."

She frowned. "I, uh, think you may have the wrong room. I've got the patient in room fifteen."

"Ah, there must have been a mistake then." The man said slowly.

Before Kagome could even get another word in, he sped off down the hallway.

"Weird..." Kagome trailed off, looking at the form of the man she had been talking to seconds earlier turn a corner. "I wonder if it was something I said?"

She shook the incident off, her mind quickly pulling her back into a vertex of thoughts- centred around Barnes' possible innocence. She resigned herself to going back to her cramped apartment, quickly showing a security guard her identification so that she could leave the building.

The mob waiting outside the Joint Counter Terrorist centre had not lessened in either their anger nor their numbers. The instant that she emerged from the door, a hoard of enraged people surged forwards but were quickly stopped by security guards. Kagome pushed through the crowd, managing to stop herself from lashing out at the people that yelled at her.

She stormed down the cobblestone streets, more than glad to be out of the fray. She wished she could properly take in the beauty of the city, but her mind was far too distracted for that. What if he was innocent? She rushed into her apartment, barreling towards her bed where her laptop was resting upon the sheets. She sat cross-legged on the bed, the laptop sat on her legs as she typed furiously.

Kagome had practically read every single article there was to read about the bombing of the Vienna International Centre. Twelve people dead, more then seventy injured. The supposed culprit? James Barnes. Not one news source even entertained the idea of any other possible perpetrator. The entire world had just unanimously accepted that he did it, with very little proof. The only real evidence that they had was some grainy security footage supposedly depicting Barnes near the bomb site. No DNA evidence, fingerprints or footage of him actually committing the crime itself.

Curious blue eyes scanned once more through the file, checking one last time that the only evidence was a picture. She was right. This man had been brainwashed, made to almost entirely forget his previous life, was used as a weapon by a terrorist organisation, had undoubtedly been traumatised by the entire thing, and did not garner a shred of sympathy from neither the UN nor the media. Instead, he was blamed for an attack with virtually no evidence.

Whoever the real culprit was had to be exceptionally intelligent. They managed to frame a man that everybody hated- a person that nobody would even question would do these things. The real culprit had managed to frame James Barnes, a man the public deemed a ruthless assassin, who would never be looked upon as innocent.

Kagome didn't sleep at all that night. The thought that he was probably innocent plagued her. This man had been in hiding for god's sake, he hadn't committed any crimes during that period of time, so why would he bomb the Vienna International Centre?

As she recalled the haunted look in his eyes her heart began to pound.

It was then that Kagome made up her mind. She have been ordered to evaluate him, sedate him with her powers and present him like a trophy to the UN. But so help her god, she would prove his innocence.

11:45 AM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Wednesday

She nodded politely to the guards stationed outside room fifteen, the metal doors sliding open seconds later. Kagome walked into the room, surveying the grey walls with displeasure. Far too bland for her liking. The entire place needed some life in her opinion.

When her eyes finally landed on Barnes, she found he was already looking at her.

"You're innocent," She declared. "If you'll let me, I'd be honoured to help you prove it."

He looked at her, his brows furrowed as Kagome moved closer to his containment chamber.

"I've still got a job to do, though." Kagome sighed. "Even if you didn't do the bombing you still need to be evaluated. I've got some friends that'd probably be willing to represent you in court if you want them to, but that's for you to decide." She looked to her notes attached to her trusty clipboard, finding that Ross had given her a list of evaluative techniques for her to utilise on her patient.

Kagome frowned, snatching the list off the clipboard. "He acts as if I don't know how to do my job." She muttered. "Mr. Barnes?"

"Just Bucky." He replied simply.

"Ross wants me to start using energy therapy on you- the arrogant jerk'll have my head if I don't." As the words left her mouth she could see something akin to panic flash in his eyes. "It's completely painless, all it's meant to do is calm you down, but I understand if you don't want me to, you really have no reason to trust me, after all." Kagome gave him a small smile.

He nodded his head slowly. "It's fine."

"That's a relief," Kagome sighed. "It may feel a bit weird at first but I promise it'll help you relax."

Kagome pressed her hands to the cool glass, closing her blue eyes and focusing her mind. Although she couldn't see it, pink rays of light shone from her palms, enveloping her forearms and spreading outwards towards Bucky.

He would have resisted if it didn't feel so welcoming. In fact, his survival instincts were going into overdrive, begging him to move. Yet, he remained perfectly still, transfixed by the woman on the other side of the glass and the light she was giving off. Gradually, the wisps of energy travelled towards him, through the glass, dancing over his body. He couldn't find it within himself to resist; all flight or fight instincts were gone. In their place was a calm he hadn't felt in years.

"Hey," Kagome's soft voice roused him from his thoughts as he opened his eyes- silently thinking that he didn't remember shutting them at all.

"Do you feel better?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Bucky nodded.

"That's good," She smiled brightly. "Now that's over and done with, I'm guessing I can just tell you what I know about your case." She looked to the list that Ross had given her. "All that he asked me to do today was 'pink mumbo-jumbo', and he thought it'd take me the whole day. But what does he know?"

Kagome spread open Bucky's file, flicking quickly to the back page- all known information on the bombing of the Vienna International Centre. "They've got one picture of you- it's mega blurry and it doesn't prove anything." A deep anger flared to life within her. "What happened to innocent until proven guilty? This isn't right."

She yawned, sitting on the table and pulling the file into her lap. "Ross basically wants me to keep you calm for trial, I guess he hopes that you'll confess. That jerk can't see things logically, all 'evidence' that they have proves absolutely nothing at all. But the UN won't believe that, they're just looking for someone to blame." Kagome scowled. She was going to storm into that courtroom and present his case herself if she had to. Innocent people didn't deserve to be behind bars. This man had been forced into doing very violent things, and was being used as a scapegoat by some diabolical criminal. How had nobody seen it? Kagome supposed that they were just too blinded by his past to see the truth. But she had seen that haunted look in his eyes, the deep regret of committing crimes he was brainwashed into doing.

"God, this must be awful for you." Kagome whispered.

11:42 AM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Thursday

Kagome strode down the hall, her mass of files cradled to her chest. She could barely see over the mountain of both evidence and suggestions from Ross for the evaluation she was supposed to be carrying out.

Down the hall, by room fifteen, she could see the guards, whose names she had come to learn were Rick and Quinn, arguing heatedly with a man in a lab coat.

"What's wrong?" Kagome sighed, walking closer to the guards. As she turned to face the man they were engaged in a disagreement with, she narrowed her eyes. That same pale face, with slicked back hair and spectacles sitting on the bridge of the nose was one that she recognised.

"Hey! You were the guy that bumped into me the other day, right?" She exclaimed.

He didn't acknowledge her, instead he looked her up and down with a sceptical gaze.

"He is also not authorised to enter room fifteen." The older of the guards, Rick, supplied.

Kagome nodded. "You're confused again, pal. You've got the wrong room, remember?"

He nodded slowly, walking away with his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Kagome turned to face the guards, easily identifying the rising unease she felt. "Promise me you'll never let him in?"

"We do our jobs." The guard grunted. "Don't you have a prisoner to be interviewing?"

"I guess I do," Kagome shrugged, sighing as the doors opened. "Hey, Bucky." She greeted warmly, setting the files down on the table.

Bucky nodded in greeting, eyeing the small mountain of files she had brought along with her.

Her eyes scanned the agenda that Ross had pinned to her clipboard. "Let's see, oh right. Today Ross wants me to go over what you remember- probably to try and prove if you're criminally responsible for any past crimes, which I'm already certain you're not." She furrowed her eyebrows. "The damn man has even given me a checklist! Hmph. I've been doing this for years and suddenly he thinks I need his help?"

She pulled out a pen, and once again sat on the table instead of the chair provided for her. "What do you remember?"

"Steve." Bucky replied simply.

"Ah, Captain America." Kagome nodded. "I've met some of the other avengers, but not him. I hear he's staying here to help with your case."

Bucky nodded.

"So, is it just Steve you remember?" She flicked through the files. "What about him do you remember the most? Old memories, before the war? During the war? Or is it only recent ones?"

"Before," He answered. "Some during but not much. The clearest ones are the recent ones."

"That's to be expected, I guess." Kagome sighed. "What do you remember about before the war?"

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards. "He used to wear newspapers in his shoes. He had to lie on his enlistment forms. He got his papers denied so many times he'd have enough of them to cover the walls of this place."

Kagome laughed. "That's a good start. Is it just blank after that?"

He nodded.

She paused for a moment, considering her words. "Do you remember anything of Hydra?"

"Some of it."

"If you don't want to talk about it that's fine," Kagome said gently. "We can always do energy therapy instead."

"Anything but Hydra," He closed his eyes tightly, as if that would dispel the memories.

Kagome pushed herself off the desk, pressing both her palms flat against the cool glass of his containment unit. "You know, Ross said you could probably get out of here."

"I don't want to."

"I see," Kagome sighed. "I'll start now."

She closed her eyes, focusing her mind on the task at hand and banishing all other thoughts from her mind. With a deep breath, she centred herself on that power within, drawing limited amounts of it out and into reality. Pink tendrils of energy wrapped themselves around her hands, before shifting away and spreading out, travelling through the glass and gently caressing Bucky's shoulders, arms and neck before fading out of existence.

"There we go." Kagome smiled, looking around to find that the room was swaying. "Oh man, I must be tired, doing that two days in a row." She yawned, moving backwards to rest on the desk.

The sound of the door opening made her turn around rather quickly.

"Huh?" She frowned, looking with suspicion at the figure in the doorway. It was the strange man from before, a twisted half-smirk settled on his face. "Rick? Quinn?" She called out, pushing herself off the desk. This man was most definitely not supposed to be there- something was awfully off about him. Kagome knew something was wrong when she received no response from the guards.

"It's about time I got to meet you, my soldier." The man whispered with a light eastern European accent.

"Hey!" Kagome shouted. "You shouldn't be in here, I've already told you that!"

He didn't spare a glance at Kagome. He was staring intensely at Bucky, a predatory glint in his eyes.

"I have something to discuss with you, Mr. Barnes."

"You can't just barge in here!" Kagome exclaimed, standing in front of the man, but she was swiftly pushed aside.

The man pressed a hand to the glass of Bucky's pod, the other one delving into his lab coat to retrieve a small red book. "Zhelaniye."

Bucky tensed up, glaring at the man. "Stop." He practically growled.

"Rzhavyy." The foreign word slipped off the man's tongue naturally.

Bucky twitched, throwing his head back as if in pain. "No."

Kagome pulled herself up, roughly pushing the man backwards. "Stop it, get out!"

The man looked at her for what seemed like the first time, a rather displeased look etched onto his face. "You're quite intent on getting in my way, aren't you?" The man pushed her down roughly, sending her already spinning head slamming onto the floor.

Kagome groaned, her head pounding and darkness beginning to tug at the edges of her vision. Something was terribly wrong- a man had broken into room fifteen, the guards were nowhere in sight, and said man was causing Bucky pain, and had proceeded to attack her. With the fiery determination she always possessed, Kagome crawled up to the wall, and managed to pull herself up enough to slam her hand onto the red alarm button.

She collapsed in a heap onto the floor. Sirens immediately began to go off, the loud noises doing nothing to soothe her pounding headache. From what she could see, red flashing lights were also going off, but the black spots were invading her vision far too frequently for her to truly be able to see what was going on. A brutal hand grabbed her by the waist, ripping her from the ground and forcing her to stand on shaky legs.

She was being pulled in every direction, her surroundings still swaying unnaturally around her. The only thing she could really focus on was the accented whispers of the man dragging her around.

She tried to push back, but found that her limbs were far too heavy and the ever increasing pain in her head was prohibiting her from even thinking straight. His arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her out of the hallway that she knew room fifteen was located in, and down a narrow grey corridor she had never been through before. There was the ever constant screeching of the alarm disturbing her, worsening her headache.

"Far too much trouble for your own good, Doctor Higurashi." The man muttered, pushing her up against a grey wall in the corridor and turning his attention to just left of her. "Perhaps if you turned down this job, I wouldn't have to do this."

"Bucky," She whispered, panicked. "What are you doing to him? He's been through too much!"

"He will be taken care of," The man replied quickly. It was then that Kagome realised what he was doing- pulling open a window. She tried to move away, her legs nearly giving out beneath her.

"A shame, really." He shook his head. "If you hadn't set the alarm off, maybe I'd have let you live. It's a tragedy that a great mind such as yours has to go for this to work- but my plan is far more important. Goodbye, Doctor Higurashi." A hand pulled her up by her lab coat, forcing her body to slam into the window ledge.

She struggled, wildly hitting his chest, earning a hiss from him, before she was roughly shoved. The window ledge was now much further away than it had been a few seconds ago. In fact, the whole facility was much further away than it had been seconds ago. Her body plummeted towards the ground, hurtling through the cold air of Vienna. She flailed hopelessly, in mere seconds her body collided with the pavement. The last thing she saw was the external grey walls of the facility looming above her crumpled form, before darkness pulled her from the pain flaring through her body.

12:01 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist facility, Vienna - Thursday

Steve was there in an instant. As much as Ross had tried to prevent him from visiting Bucky- there was no time for anyone to stop him, with the flurry of soldiers all preparing to storm into room fifteen.

He rushed through the hallways, barely taking notice of anything before he arrived outside the open doors of room fifteen. The first thing that struck him was that there were no guards, or their bodies, in sight. And the second thing was that the doors were open.

"Buck?" Steve frowned, looking with concerned eyes at the convulsing body of his best friend- still, rather unexpectedly, trapped in the containment pod.

A harsh metallic screech alerted him to the fact that the restraints across his metal arm were slowly breaking. Bucky pushed himself forwards, the metal bands snapping cleanly off his body. Without warning, his metal hand, tightened into a fist, smashed through the glass pod, completely shattering the front of it and sending shards of glass flying all over the floor.

"He took her." Bucky whispered, "I have to find her."

"Who, Buck?" Steve put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, Captain America." A lightly accented voice drawled from the doorway. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, my subject is rather disturbed. I'm going to proceed with my evaluation."

Steve narrowed his eyes at the man in the entrance- wearing a crumpled lab coat with dots of blood along its front, and cradling a red book as if it were a baby.

"Mr. Barnes, I'm going to have to ask you to stay still so you can be restrained and we can proceed with our evaluation." The man stated evenly.

"Where is she?" Bucky strode towards him, grabbing the man roughly by his collar. "What did you do with her?"

He hissed, opening the book, and reading from it. "Semnadtsat."

Bucky dropped the man, sending him and the book to the floor with a thud, and staggered backwards. "God, no!"

Captain America stared down at the man, and then glanced back at Bucky. "What's wrong?"

"Imposter," Bucky groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Trying to control me." He bit out.

That, apparently, was enough for Steve, who proceeded to grab the man by his collar and look him dead in the eye. Steve kicked the book away from the man, sending it into the centre of the room with the piles of broken glass.

"Where is she?" Bucky moved forwards to stand behind Steve, looking like he wanted nothing more than to punch the man in the face. It was all too confusing- one moment he was feeling so damn calm thanks to Kagome- a bliss that he hadn't felt in years, and then in a matter of minutes she was ripped from the room by some man that spoke the very words he was so afraid of hearing.

"She is gone, soldier." He said emotionlessly. "But that is of no concern to us."

"What the hell have you done?" Bucky hissed, his anger so focused on the man Steve was restraining that he barely noticed the armed men flooding into the room, barking at them to stand down.

Steve dropped the man in the lab coat, raising his hands in surrender. "It'll all be okay, Buck."

Bucky just shook his head, also raising his hands in surrender and allowing the armed men to restrain him roughly.

11:45 AM, Vienna, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility - Friday

"You've really screwed this one up," Sam sighed from his position on the chair opposite Steve.

Ross nodded, entering the room with a file in hand. "I couldn't agree more, Wilson."

"General." Steve nodded respectfully. "Am I allowed to see him?"

"God, Rogers!" Ross scoffed. "The guy just broke out of his containment unit like it was nothing, I really wouldn't want you to inspire him to do something like that again."

"What about that guy that was in there with them, where's he at now?" Sam asked, moving forward on his chair.

Ross huffed. "We've composed a file- he was one of my top choices for the evaluator, but he didn't get the job. I have no idea how he even got in the facility in the first place- security is supposed to be state of the art, yet this man manages to slip through the cracks and get to our most dangerous prisoner. We've got him in lock up, he shouldn't be getting out any time soon."

"And the real doctor? From the security footage, that guy was the only one in the room-" Sam was abruptly cut off.

"Doctor Higurashi is in one of the offices trying to recover- got thrown out of a damn window." Ross supplied. "I can't imagine that neither Fury or the Japanese Government will be very happy that their favourite agent got injured on my watch."

"Damn," Sam winced. "That must've hurt."

"What's going to happen to Bucky?" Steve sighed.

Ross shook his head. "Until Doctor Higurashi recovers fully, Barnes'll be staying in room thirty, on sub-level five. Rogers, if you're going to break into it and see him, which I have zero doubts you will, keep his anger to a damn minimum- if you're the cause of another incident like that I will not hesitate to ban you from the facility."

"Understood." Steve nodded.

12:04 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Friday

The doors slid open quickly, revealing Bucky in the centre of the room in a containment unit nearly identical to the last one- save for the fact that the glass had been reinforced with more steel, criss-crossing over the cube in an 'X' shape.

"Hey, Buck." Steve sighed. "They arrested the guy- Ross still has no clue how he got in there, though."

"How is she?" Bucky pulled forwards against the metal restraints, of which there were much more than there were a day prior.

Steve shook his head. "How is who?"

"Kagome."

"I don't know who that is, buddy." Steve moved closer to the containment unit, running a hand through his hair. "Who's Kagome?"

Bucky hung his head. "Doctor Higurashi. That guy took her- God, I heard her scream, Steve. Please," He went hoarse, "Find out if she's okay."

"I've heard she's in one of the offices, recovering."

Bucky's lips twitched upwards. "She doesn't seem like the type that would go to the hospital even if she was dying- she's that stubborn."

Steve nodded, smiling at his friend's fondness of the doctor. "I'm sure General Ross would have had her taken to a hospital if it was that bad, Buck. You're fond of her, huh?"

"She was helping me, Steve." Bucky whispered. "Swore that she would prove I was innocent, even if she had to present my case herself."

"She sounds great," Steve responded- the doctor was clearly a good woman if Bucky liked her. "I'll try to find out if she's alright."

Bucky nodded in thanks as Steve turned and walked out of the door, which closed immediately behind him.

Steve wandered the halls for a while, eventually coming to the white bridge that separated the offices from the containment centre of the facility. He crossed it quickly, and came into the office sector. For some reason, most of the office walls were made of reinforced glass, possibly to compensate for the severe lack of windows in the containment sector. In one, he could see Sam staring pointedly at T'Challa, the man that had attacked them in Bucharest, who was engrossed in conversation with two other agents. In another, were people clicking quickly through a slide show of pictures of Bucky, most likely analysing the timeline of the bombing of the Vienna International Centre.

Steve sighed. The whole world seemed to believe his friend was guilty- but Steve knew that Bucky couldn't have done it. Without Hydra's influence he would never hurt innocent people again, that much he was sure of. He surveyed the glass offices slowly, the flurry of people in each one made it hard to discern what was happening, and he still had no idea what this 'Doctor Higurashi' lady looked like.

His blue eyes came to a stop at one particular office- there was only one woman in the room, lying motionlessly on a desk in the centre of it. He moved towards the office, his hands meeting with the glass door as he pushed it open gently.

"Doctor Higurashi?" He asked, entering the office.

She didn't even stir- remaining completely still save for the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her inky black hair was fanned around her, spilling over the edges of the finely crafted desk, a few wisps of hair falling over her serene visage. Her hands rested on her chest, clasped together, save for her index fingers which joined at the fingertip in a triangular shape over a glistening purple orb. Steve moved towards her, practically standing over her to read the name tag attached to the front pocket of her lab coat.

'Doctor Kagome Higurashi.' The small white ID card read.

Steve then noticed small dots of red staining the white lab coat, and then realised that they matched the ones of that man's lab coat- the blood was probably hers. The man had thrown her out of a window- quite the fall from containment room fifteen, and yet she survived seemingly unscathed. He couldn't even see a wound that the blood would have come from, and couldn't see any bruises on her body.

"Resorted to stalking my employees, now?"

Steve spun around, finding Ross chuckling from the doorway.

"Bucky asked me to check on her," Steve explained. "You said she was thrown out of a window from by room fifteen? How is she not in the hospital?"

Ross waved him off. "She's too independent for her own good- if she can heal herself then she sees no reason to waste 'valuable resources' in a hospital. She'll probably be fine, she has to be- she's got a job to complete."

"She fell from a fifth story window and you've decided not to take her to a hospital?" He frowned, looking from Ross to Kagome's still form.

"She's not a normal human, Captain. And that's exactly why I chose her for the job, she'll survive pretty much anything that's thrown at her, or at least Fury and the Japanese Government think so." Ross answered.

"Fury knows her?" Steve asked, recalling that Ross had previously mentioned Fury and the Doctor in the same sentence, although he hadn't been paying full attention at the time.

"He recruited her. She spent a while in the field and then got tired to fighting wars that she didn't believe in. And now she's reduced herself to helping criminals." Ross shook his head. "I'm glad I got her for the job, though. At least I don't have to worry about hiring someone new. She does her job well, even if she doesn't listen to orders. Anyway, she'll be waking up soon, I'm sure of it."

The body on the table shifted, earning a glance from both Steve and Ross. She then groaned, one hand wrapping itself tightly around the jewel and the other moving to hold her head as her legs shifted to dangle over the table and she pulled herself up.

"My head," She muttered, opening her eyes and then blinking. "Uh, hi?"

"I see that you've finally woken up, Higurashi. Feeling a little down after your fall?" Ross raised an eyebrow at her.

"And how am I supposed to feel? Over the moon? You're such a jerk sometimes." She retorted, narrowing her blue eyes at him before turning her attention to Steve. "I don't think we've met, I'm Kagome."

"Steve Rogers," He introduced himself with a half-smile.

She smiled back at him brightly, observing him quickly, before her cheery expression faltered. "Wait a minute- what happened after I, you know, got thrown out of the window? Oh god, how's Bucky? And where's that creepy guy with the red book?"

"Your patient is fine, Higurashi." Ross informed her. "He's been transferred to room thirty on sub-level five, since he broke out of his containment unit right after you were dragged off. The 'creepy guy' is in custody and being thoroughly investigated- nobody seems to know how such a security breach could have even happened, and we can't rule out the possibility that he was working with Barnes."

"Are you crazy?" Kagome gasped. "When he started reading out of that book Bucky looked like he was being tortured!"

Ross sighed. "It's likely the man- his name is Helmut Zemo, is working with Hydra. The words he was reading out were supposed 'triggers' to reset Hydra's best assassin- The Winter Soldier."

"Never heard of the guy," Kagome tapped her chin. "Have you even thought of the possibility that Hydra was behind the bombing, not Bucky?"

"You think he's innocent, I get it, Higurashi." He stared at her intensely. "But we've seen the security footage."

The petite woman scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "That security footage proves nothing!"

"Framing Bucky for the bombing does one thing- gets him captured and taken here." Steve said calmly. "Where Zemo could reset him. The bomb could have just been a way to get Bucky back with Hydra."

"Exactly!" Kagome exclaimed, rising from the table and jabbing a finger into Ross' chest repeatedly. "You're blaming an innocent guy, Ross. We both know that his reputation is the only real reason everyone thinks he did it!"

Ross furrowed his eyebrows. "As great a theory as that is, the UN believes he did it, and there's a great deal of pressure on me to get answers out of Barnes. Do your job first, evaluate him and then prove his innocence. Higurashi, I want you back on the job as soon as possible."

"Fine." Kagome rolled her eyes. "But don't expect me to stop trying-"

"To convince me, I know." Ross shook his head. "I just came to check if you'd woken up yet and remind you that you have a job to do- you have too many responsibilities to let one fall from a fifth floor window take you out."

"As if I'd let a man like that kill me," She scoffed, throwing her head backwards with a slight smile.

Ross opened the door for himself, before turning back and looking at Kagome. "Be careful, Higurashi."

"I will." She replied, her gaze softening as she watched Ross leave.

Steve chuckled. "You had quite a fall- five stories, I've heard."

"And boy did I feel it," Kagome groaned, pressing a palm to her head.

"And you're alright?"

She shrugged it off. "Pretty much. Anyway, what can I do for you? I'm sure you didn't come into the office for no reason. Unless you just came to watch me sleep." She teased.

A light blush dusted his cheeks. "Ma'am- I, no, uh-"

"I'm only teasing, Captain. My name isn't ma'am, it's Kagome." Kagome smiled brightly, her eyes trailing over his body as she took him in- she'd heard about him from Fury, and on the news. 'A man out of time' Fury had called him, a name which painfully reminded Kagome of her own past and the feeling that she didn't belong in the present that plagued her.

"Just Steve," He corrected her. "Bucky asked me to make sure you're alright."

"I should really go and see him," She said rather quickly. "Room thirty, sub-level five, wasn't it?"

He nodded, prompting Kagome to grab his hand and drag him out of the office with him. Steve's eyes wandered to the small hand wrapped tightly around his- dragging him in a determined fashion towards sub-level five. It wasn't hard for him to understand why Bucky took a shine to her- the way she spoke with conviction while defending his innocence and put others before herself was something to be admired. He thought, with crimson cheeks, that she looked rather alluring while jabbing her finger into Ross' chest angrily.

12:27 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Friday

Kagome quickly flashed a security card to the four guards stationed outside room thirty- noticing that the security had doubled before brushing it off, and pulled Steve into the room with her.

Directly across from her was Bucky- imprisoned in a stronger containment unit, his head snapped up, staring at her with wide eyes, his hair falling over his face as he let out a relieved sigh.

"Bucky!" Kagome dropped Steve's hand, rushing towards the containment unit and softly pressing a hand to the glass. Steve looked down at his empty hand for a second before he gazed back up at Kagome, who was stood opposite Bucky.

"You're alright?" He said slowly and somewhat unsurely as he looked her over and eyed the spots of blood decorating the collar of her lab coat.

"I'm fine, really." Kagome nodded, "What about you?"

"Fine." Bucky answered.

Kagome sighed, looking quickly back at Steve before returning her gaze to Bucky. "I'm going to try to get the evaluation position for Zemo- if I get any information out of him it'd really help your case, and Ross knows that I'm the best at what I do, he'd probably allow it."

"He's dangerous." Bucky said, his eyebrows furrowed at the thought of Kagome once again alone with the man that threw her out of the window- her screams tormented him. The feeling of being helpless while she was attacked didn't sit well with him, it left a rising amount of dread building up within him.

"He'll be restrained-"

"That didn't stop me from getting out." He retorted.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you're stronger than him. But I can always take guards with me, I'm sure they won't mind."

Bucky nodded, silently conceding that her plan was acceptable.

"Ross wants me back on your evaluation as soon as possible- I think that the UN is pressuring him into rushing a full report, on top of the public outrage, and the demands of Wakanda. Do you mind?" She asked slowly, her eyes travelling quickly down to her palms, one pressed against the cool glass and one hanging freely at her side.

Bucky shook his head.

"They still think he did it?" Steve interjected, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the wall.

"Some of them do," The hand at Kagome's side curled into a fist. "They're all trying to rush it- to just get a conviction and think later. Though with Zemo in the picture, they're going to have to consider the possibility that he was behind the bombing!"

"And since nobody else will- I'm going to do something about it." Kagome whispered under her breath- a sentiment that didn't reach the ears of anyone else in the room. "Are you ready?" She said softly, her eyes meeting Bucky's.

"Yes."

She closed her eyes, the complete darkness she was seeing was in total contrast to the vibrant display of power she was giving to the other two occupants of the room. Wisps of pink energy rolled off her palms in gentle waves, dancing around her fingers and floating through the glass, sweeping over Bucky's shoulders and chest before fading from existence.

Steve watched in a mixture of awe and confusion- power practically radiated off her petite body, but it wasn't aggressive or dominating in the slightest, it was a gentle breeze, ghosting over Bucky's upper body before vanishing as if it had never been there at all. Bucky visibly relaxed as the wisps reached his body- he became less tense, his eyes drooped shut and he seemed to relax in the undoubtedly uncomfortable containment unit.

"Better?" Kagome opened her eyes, a smile breaking out across her face.

"Thank you," He murmured.

Her hand dropped from the glass, finding its place at her side as she spun around to face Steve. A groan left her throat- tiny black dots invading her vision.

"Kagome?" Steve frowned- watching as the doctor swayed slightly.

She stumbled backwards, her body slamming into the containment unit. "Too tired- used up too much energy." She bit out, struggling to push herself back onto her feet. Darkness crept into the corners of her vision, marching forwards until it claimed her completely. Her body went limp, falling towards the floor.

Bucky tensed, moving forwards as if to grab her but being held back by the reinforced restraints.

Steve's arms wrapped around her waist, catching her before her body had the chance to make contact with the floor.

"She shouldn't have used her energy on me." Bucky said in a whisper.

"Ross should have taken her to a hospital." Steve sighed, pulling her to his chest. "Even if she's not a regular human a fall from five stories must have been awful."

Bucky's eyes went wide. "Five stories?"

"Zemo threw her out of a window." Steve supplied, looking down at the woman cradled to his chest.

"Ross didn't even take her to a hospital?" Bucky frowned, his eyes roaming her body, looking for any sign that she was injured.

He nodded. "Ross thinks she'll survive anything that is thrown at her- he said she wouldn't let herself get taken to a hospital, either."

"Too stubborn." Bucky muttered.

"I'll take her to a hospital," Steve said. "What did she do to you?"

Bucky tried to shift- stopped by the numerous restraints pressing into his arms and chest. "It makes me feel better. The nightmares stop. It feels like Hydra never happened." He said softly.

Steve looked down at the woman in his arms- a true enigma. Bucky found himself captivated by her, and Steve found that he was becoming enchanted, too. Undoubtedly, Kagome Higurashi had a heart of gold. She fought for a man who ultimately she owed nothing to, and gave her energy to him at the expense of herself.

"I'll be back," Steve nodded, turning and walking out of the doors, Kagome tucked safely against his chest.

1:13 PM, St. Victoire's Hospital for the Ill, Vienna - Friday

"Sir?" A short, middle-aged nurse reached up and hesitantly tapped Steve's shoulder.

He turned around swiftly, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Yes, ma'am?"

"C-Captain America!" She squealed, her hands flying to her chest, a crimson blush staining her cheeks.

"Yes, ma'am?" He repeated softly, no amusement in his eyes as he turned his gaze to the room Kagome was currently staying in, fast asleep in the hospital bed.

"I, uh, well- she's stable for now, we're pretty certain it's just exhaustion." The nurse relayed, fiddling with the end of her shirt. "Normally I wouldn't let anyone in unless they're family, but," She paused. "I- I can make an exception." She opened the door for him slowly, glancing up shyly at his face.

"Thank you, ma'am." He said with a nod, quickly moving past her and standing at Kagome's side. The woman on the bed, her dark locks splayed around her head like some kind of halo really was an oddity, no other woman he had ever met acted like her. No woman he had ever met seemed capable of doing what she did, of making Bucky's torture end. It was a feat that Steve both appreciated and wished he could experience.

11:37 AM, St. Victoire's Hospital for the Ill, Vienna - Saturday

Kagome stirred, her body shifting from underneath the thin and scratchy hospital bedsheets. Her eyes fluttered open, taking in her new surroundings, the pristine white walls, the steady beeping coming from nearby, the rampaging smell of disinfectant.

"Where am I?" She whispered.

"Hospital," A deep voice answered. Said deep voice suddenly got a face and a name, as Steve stood over her bed, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Why?" She sat up suddenly, before groaning. "Used too much energy."

Steve nodded. "The nurse said it was exhaustion."

"Did you have to bring me to a hospital?" Kagome's eyes turned to the door. "Can we please just leave?" She added pleadingly.

"Not until a doctor-"

"I'm going." She announced, cutting him off and kicking the bedsheets off her body. "Uh, where are my clothes?"

Steve didn't respond, just looking at her in confusion as she scanned the room, her blue eyes quickly landing on a pile of clothes by her bedside.

"Found 'em!" Kagome exclaimed happily. "Turn around."

"I-" Steve began.

Kagome's eyes narrowed in mock sternness. "Unless you want to see me naked?"

A blush rose on his face and he turned around without protest, his arms folded over his chest. She quickly changed from her hospital gown into the clothes she had been wearing the previous day, minus the white lab coat, which she slung over her arm.

"You can turn around now." Kagome shrugged, headed for the door.

Steve stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. She spun around to face him, their blue eyes meeting as she looked up at him curiously.

"Are you alright?" He asked sincerely. She had been thrown out of a window not long ago, and collapsed of exhaustion only a day prior.

She smiled, "I'm fine, I guess healing myself after the fall took more out of me than expected."

"As long as you're okay." Steve conceded, his hand slipping from her shoulder to resume its position at his side.

Kagome just nodded, pulling the door open and waving for him to follow her. They walked through the hospital in relative silence, Kagome feeling far more restored than she had a day prior, the limits of her power weren't things that she explored often, but from how drained she was it was obvious the healing process after being pushed out of the window had used a vast amount of her energy. She resisted a shudder at the thought of what could have happened if she didn't have her powers.

They made their way out onto the street, and although very few people were outside, she could tell they were being stared at, something that was probably a constant struggle for Steve.

"How do I get back to the JCT facility from here?" Kagome asked, looking for a sign.

"You're going back already?" Steve frowned, looking at her as if he expected her to collapse at any moment.

"I've still got work to do." She groaned, thinking of the piles of paperwork she would inevitably have to do- and then of her plan, which made all of her resentment towards her job stop immediately. Kagome had a job to do, and she was going to prove Bucky innocent, there really wasn't time to rest when she had to nab the position of becoming Zemo's evaluator before someone else did.

"You really are stubborn."

Kagome whipped around to face him. "Hey!"

Steve smiled at her indignant expression. "It's true. Bucky told me and every second I've been around you since then, you've just proved him right."

"Whatever," She just waved him off.

"I'll walk you back to the facility," He nodded.

Kagome looked up at him, her head tilted, "You don't have to."

"But then you'd have nobody to catch you if you fainted again," Steve chided with a smile.

Kagome sighed, silently agreeing and falling into a steady pace at his side, as they made their way through paved streets, past shops and business centres, towards an area that Kagome was beginning to recognise.

"How long have you known Ross?"

"A while," Kagome answered. "This is the first time he's asked me to do something like this, normally he's just trying to persuade me to rejoin Fury's programs."

Steve nodded. "I've been told that Fury's fond of you."

"Fond isn't the right word." Kagome smiled, "I think it's more a need. Since the New York invasion everyone's been on edge, waiting for something else to go wrong. And Fury needs me to be there when it does- the same way he needs the Avengers to be there, too."

"That's seeming a little bit hard right now." He sighed.

"They're forcing you to make difficult choices for control, that's the way the government has always been. It's important to stand up for what you believe in, even if the consequences are tough to deal with." She said wisely. "Thank god the crowd has gone down." She nodded towards the entrance of the Joint Counter Terrorist facility, which had amassed a crowd of between fifteen and twenty today, all yelling angrily at the tired security guards.

Steve placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, guiding her through the crowd and towards the guard, who studied Kagome's identification for a few moments and then allowed them inside.

"Wanna come track down Ross with me?" Kagome asked, eyes scanning the bustling agents for the very man that caused her to be there.

He shook his head, "I'm going to go catch up with Bucky."

"Let him know I'm alright?" She looked up at him with pleading blue eyes.

"I don't think he'll believe it until you see him yourself."

"I'll come down after I've seen Ross," Kagome promised. "Bye, Steve."

With a wave and a smile, she strode through the facility, searching for Thaddeus.

12:43 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Saturday

Just as she had assured Bucky, Kagome brought a handful of armed guards with her when she went to see Zemo. The task of convincing Ross to allow her to evaluate him wasn't challenging in the slightest, he agreed almost instantaneously, and told her to try not to get thrown out of any more windows, saying that she was the best person for the job, so they couldn't afford to have her injured.

The doors slid open, Kagome stepping into the dull grey room first, with the guards marching after her, their heavy duty weapons clutched to their chests. Zemo was restrained in a different way to Bucky- with his arms bound to the wall behind the chair he was sat on, and his ankles shackled to the floor, encased in layers of reinforced metal that would surely stop him from escaping. Most notable, though, was the lack of glass containing him. The only form of separation between Kagome to Zemo was the physical ties holding him back. The temptation to hit him was overwhelming. He deserved a painful strike of vengeance after both distressing Bucky and throwing her out of a fifth story window.

"The doctor?" He looked up at her in shock, moving uncomfortably in the chair.

Kagome nodded at him with narrowed eyes. "I'm going to be evaluating you, in preparation for trial for impersonating a federal officer, attempted murder and because the UN thinks that you were really behind the bombing."

"You survived." He ignored what she had said, staring at her in confusion. There wasn't even a scratch on her. She looked immaculate, wearing a tight white shirt with straps that criss-crossed over her shoulder blades, a black skirt that hugged her legs, and her lab coat that she had been wearing the day he pushed her out of the window folded over her arm.

"It would take more than that to kill me." She retorted, tossing her lab coat onto the table to her left, where the files on Zemo had been placed for her to refer to.

"I can see why they chose you," He whispered to himself.

Kagome strode closer to him, her blue eyes blazing with ferocity. "What did you want with him?"

"The soldier? I wanted for him to tear the Avengers apart."

"And you framed him for the bombing." Kagome could feel the anger welling up within her- thoughts of an innocent man that had been through so many harrowing events in his life swirling through her mind.

"It was necessary."

Her hands clenched into fists, her nails biting into her palms. "You killed innocent people and had an innocent man locked up."

"The Avengers are a far bigger problem to the planet than me causing the demise of a few people to facilitate their destruction." Zemo spoke softly, as if he wasn't really talking to her at all.

She could hardly stop herself- the anger and the passion she felt gave way to the energy returning to her, flowing into her palms. Pink light spilled out of her closed palms, and she approached him, placing two fingers to his temple softly, no matter how much she wanted to be brutal with him.

"Confess."

With that one word, pink energy travelled along her fingers, disappearing when it made contact with his skin. The light died down, and Kagome withdrew her hand, looking at him with her arms crossed over her chest.

Then the words started tumbling out of his mouth.

"I set up the bomb at the Vienna International Centre." He began, slouching as much as he could given the fact he was heavily restrained. "I killed Karpov for the book, to reactivate the soldier. The soldier was going to divide them, rip them in two, and although is is not complete, he has served his purpose."

Her knuckles went white as her fury only increased. "You're a monster! You gave up innocent people, killed them brutally, and made Bucky's life worse! You won't get away with this."

"They took everything from me." Zemo continued, hissing. "My wife and my child. They were innocent. They were killed brutally. And yet the Avengers are called heroes instead of monsters."

Kagome frowned, watching his head roll back and his body go limp as he fell unconscious.

"We have a confession. I'll notify the correct authorities." One of the guards stated monotonously.

"I've gotta go find Ross," Kagome clutched a hand to her chest.

11:17 AM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Sunday

A different set of grey doors slid open for Kagome, although they looked identical. In fact, everything about the containment rooms were identical, save for the occupants and the manner of which they were restrained.

"I thought you said you'd visit yesterday." His deep voice greeted her.

"Bucky!" Kagome called out to him, rushing over to his containment unit and pressing her hands to the cool glass excitedly.

He looked her up and down, with slightly furrowed eyebrows. "Are you alright?"

She shrugged him off. "It was just exhaustion, I'm fine. I've got good news!"

"What is it?"

Her hands shook as she smiled brightly. "I got Zemo to confess! The UN are taking him to trial and you're cleared!"

"W-what?" He stuttered in disbelief.

"They're going to let you go!" She nodded enthusiastically, missing the conflicted look passing over his face. "It'll probably be later today, they're thinking of having someone assigned to you, to keep an eye on you, but at least it'll be better than here!"

He studied her carefully, a sense of both confusion and conflict rising within him. Freedom- that was what he wanted, wasn't it? But with it brought the inevitable return of the nightmares, and the distinct lack of the petite, cheerful, blue-eyed woman that had become so invested in his case.

She took in a deep breath, her eyes darting briefly to her hands before she looked back to him. "If you'd let me...I could be the one keeping an eye on you?"

"I'd like that." A smile tugged at his lips.

The subtle sound of shifting metal and footsteps prompted Kagome to spin around, her hands parting from the glass and moving to cross over her chest. Making his way into the room was Steve.

"Kagome, Buck." He greeted them with a wave.

The petite woman, with her back now to Bucky, smiled brightly at Steve. "Zemo confessed- they're gonna let Bucky go."

Steve's eyes widened in shock. He'd hoped it would happen with all of his heart, but never once expected it to happen so soon, or at least without another escape.

"She did it." Bucky couldn't stop a small smile from forming on his face. "Will you come with us when I'm out?"

"Of course." Steve nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "Where do you want to go?"

Bucky shrugged slightly. "Anywhere away from here."

"How about Japan?" Kagome suggested. "We can stay at my house."

Bucky nodded in agreement.

"They're going to let you out once they've got all the signatures they need, so you've probably got another few hours before then." She tapped her chin as she thought. "I'll go look at flights- I'm guessing you wanna be out of here ASAP, huh?"

"Yeah." Bucky relaxed into the restraints, content with the knowledge that they would soon be off, and after that he would be free to leave with the man who occupied his memories, and the woman who occupied his present.

"Oh, man. I should probably let Ross know, and then try to call Mom and Gramps, they'll probably want to clean the shrine, book flights, pack up my apartment..." She rambled on, stopping abruptly with a smile. "I'll be back soon!" She waved, half-skipping out of the room, the doors opening and closing for her quickly.

Steve shook his head. "She really is something, isn't she?"

"She is."

1:23 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Sunday

Kagome stood beside Steve, the two of them wearing matching smiles as two guards unlocked the containment pod and began the painstaking task of removing all the restraints from Bucky's body, having to use crowbars to tear the metal off, although it was a slow process.

"Well done, Higurashi." Ross rolled his eyes from his position in the doorway, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his grey suit. "You did exactly the damn opposite of what I asked you to do."

She frowned slightly, "Well, I got you the real culprit and a full confession from him. You're just not ready to admit you were wrong about him."

"Perhaps not." Ross agreed with a nod. "But you got what you wanted."

"I did warn you I'd prove his innocence even if I had to do it myself, didn't I?"

"That you did, Higurashi." Thaddeus sighed, "There'll always be a position for you here if you get bored."

She giggled, the sound of her laughter was like a beautifully composed melody, floating through the air and blessing the ears of whoever was around. "Somehow I don't think I will."

An ugly cry came from the metal, peeling back and snapping, landing with a clatter against the floor. Bucky moved his newly freed fleshy arm, using it to run a hand through his hair as the guards moved onto his metal arm, trying to force the restraints to release the arm. The crowbar pushed the restraints away from his metal arm, the sound of the crowbar scraping against both the arm and the restraint was almost ungodly- it sounded more like a howl of pain than anything else.

With a few minutes of scraping, and a lot of effort from the two guards, the metal arm came free, and with it, Bucky.

He stood up shakily, moving his shoulders properly for the first time in a little over three weeks and stepping fully out of the containment pod.

Kagome and Steve both moved forwards, the latter placing a reassuring hand on Bucky's shoulder.

"I knew it'd turn out okay." Steve said.

"Thank you," Bucky murmured, wrapping one arm around Kagome's waist and placing the other on Steve's back.

Kagome leaned into his touch, pressing her body into his chest. "The jet's on the roof whenever you want to leave."

"Do you know how to fly?" Steve asked.

"I thought I could just figure it out as I went along." Kagome shrugged with a smile.

"Good thing I know how to fly, then."

Kagome just laughed. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed Steve and Bucky by their hands and pulled them along with her, headed out of room. She paused in the doorway, smiling at the man that was the reason she came to Vienna in the first place.

"Bye, Ross!"

"Remember, weekly reports, Higurashi." He reminded her, watching her leave with the Winter Soldier and Captain America's hands wrapped in hers. "Be careful." He told her, and she just tossed her head back and winked at him, proceeding on her journey with the men.

2:32 AM, Airspace above Eurasia - Monday

Kagome yawned, reclining into the seat at the back of the jet. It was more like a bench really, without any seatbelts, but with a long leather cushion to prevent her back from coming into contact with the walls of the sleek black jet.

"Tired?" Steve asked, walking towards her from where he had been standing at the front of the jet, quickly switching the jet onto autopilot with the flick of a switch.

"Just a bit." Kagome replied, glancing over at Bucky, who was sat next to her and deep in thought, and then back to Steve. "Are you not tired?"

Steve shook his head. "I don't need to sleep as much as I used to."

"We should be landing in an hour." Kagome nudged Bucky gently. "We're staying on my family's shrine."

"And your family's alright with this?" The blonde asked.

Kagome nodded. "They know we're coming. They're on holiday anyway, Gramps is just happy he won't have to pay for anyone to look after the shrine."

Steve sat down next to Kagome, leaving her between himself and Bucky. He looked at them- the beautiful, passionate woman that had slipped into his life, and his best friend, the man he would fight for above all else.

Bucky sighed, leaning his head on Kagome's shoulder. She embraced the touch whole-heartedly, internally wondering what had brought it on.

"What if they find me again?" Bucky murmured.

"I guess we'll just have to stop them then, won't we?" She smiled.

"I won't let that happen, Buck." Steve reassured him.

Bucky just shook his head, his dark hair falling over his eyes. "What if they hurt you again?" This time he was speaking solely to Kagome. Steve may be able to survive almost anything thrown at time- he was Captain America after all, genetically enhanced supersoldier with a knack for living through whatever trouble he got himself into, but Kagome was not.

"I'm not going to let myself get hurt anytime soon." Kagome said soothingly, watching some of the tension lift from his shoulders.

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

Steve leaned back, putting one arm over Kagome's shoulder and stroking Bucky's hair with his hand. "She'll have us to protect her."

"It never seems to end." Bucky whispered into Kagome's shoulder, relishing in both the feeling of her against him and Steve's fingers toying with his hair gently.

"It will." Kagome promised.

"Can you make it go away?" Bucky said, almost pleadingly.

She nodded, not bothering to disentangle herself from Bucky and Steve, her eyelids fluttering closed as she willed her energy to surface. Soft palms lit up pink, the energy dancing through the air, some of it remaining on Kagome's hands, brushing gently over her knuckles but never daring to travel any further up her arm. It journeyed over Bucky's chest, caressing his shoulders, wandering up his neck to visit his jaw, and the tops of his arms, before fading from existence.

"Better?" She asked.

He murmured a 'yes' into her shoulder, feeling the most peace he had in years. "It's like Hydra was all just a bad dream. It barely feels real- God, I can remember Steve better now."

"What was that, Buck?" Steve smiled.

"You were such a punk back then, before the war." Bucky shook his head. "Always getting into fights and I had to save you."

Steve shrugged. "It wasn't like I had much choice, those guys deserved it."

"You're still the same," Bucky mused.

Kagome yawned, nestled between Bucky and Steve rather contently. It felt right, just to be sitting between them, listening to them talk. It felt good, warm, the type of fuzzy feelings you rarely got, the feelings that you would desperately cling to when you needed to remember the good times. She closed her eyes, letting the darkness consume her without the slightest bit of protest, and slipping into the land of sleep. Her head relaxed onto Steve's arm, resting there comfortably.

"You'd always take those guys on, even though you didn't stand a chance."

"Someone had to." Steve looked down absentmindedly at Kagome, her inky black hair spilling over his arm and down her chest. "Is she asleep?"

Bucky nodded, his head still leaning on her shoulder. "She's a lot like you. I don't think anyone else would do that for me."

"She sure is different." Steve agreed. And really, she was. There weren't many people willing to do what she had done, to stick her neck out for Bucky, continually help him, and prove his innocence. Different was a word he would associate with Kagome Higurashi, the headstrong doctor that fought tirelessly for Bucky, and brought a warmth to Steve's heart every time she spoke to him.

"She makes it better." Bucky said simply. "Do- do you ever think about the war?"

"I think about losing you." He admitted. "The day you fell into that ravine was the worst day of my life. But, I've found you again, and this time I'm making sure I don't lose you again."

Bucky nodded. "I'm not going anywhere. If you start thinking about it too much, she can make it go away."

"She makes it easier just by being here."

"I know what you mean."

3:22 AM, Higurashi Shrine, Japan - Monday

"We can land here." Kagome was leaning on the chair that Steve was sat in, guiding the jet slowly to land at the very back of the shrine, where the remnants of the forest of Inuyasha would hide it from view. The jet met with the ground almost silently, the air picking up leaves from the ground and swirling them in the air before depositing them elsewhere on the shrine grounds, amongst the dust that had also risen from the ground due to the wind produced by the landing.

The ramp lowered slowly, Kagome merrily skipping down it and calling out to the men behind her. "Come on!"

With a smile and a shake of his head, Steve followed after her, Bucky not far behind him.

"This is my house," Kagome led them to a white building, in front of the area where they landed, but behind an array of smaller buildings. It was white, with sliding glass doors that led into the house, although the interior was hidden by some opaque blue curtains, the windows accented by green shutters, and the occasional potted plant sitting on the windowsill.

She pulled a small silver key out from her pocket, turning it in the lock and sliding the door open. "Mom? Grandpa? Souta?" She called out, blinking at the lack of response. "I guess they really did go on holiday." She turned around to look at the two men standing outside her house. "Well, don't just stand there, come in."

She flicked the light switch, surveying the living room nostalgically. "Make yourselves at home."

10:13 AM, Higurashi Shrine, Japan - Monday

Kagome tied her hair up, and cracked her knuckles before lifting cardboard box after cardboard box over and over, putting them into piles atop one another inside the storage room on the shrine. With a sigh, she dusted the wooden shelves the boxes had been resting on, presumably for the last few years, eyeing the cobwebs and grime that had accumulated over the years with disgust.

"Oh my god!" She wailed, jumping and crashing into the boxes, sending the 'relics' contained within them flying all over the floor.

In an instant, Steve was at the door, the broom he had been using to sweep the shrine grounds with was forgotten, lying abandoned on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Spider!" Kagome shuddered, staggering out of the storage room and into the doorway, where Steve simply patted her on the arm.

"Do you want me to get it?"

"Please!" She begged, yelping when Steve proceeded to the spot she had been standing in only seconds earlier, picking up the rather large spider from the back of the shelf and throwing it outside.

"Thank you so much," She sighed in relief, wiping her forehead. "They give me the creeps."

Steve just chuckled, stepping back out onto the shrine grounds and picking up the broom he had discarded, resuming the task that Kagome had given him. Kagome also returned to her task, although she was more vigilant this time, her eyes surveying the room for any more spiders, relief washing through her when she couldn't see any. She moved to pick up the 'relics' on the floor, moving them back into their boxes. She eyed several of them in disgust, Kagome could never understand why Gramps was so keen on keeping mummified pieces of demons.

She continued with her sorting, placing all of the mummified remains in one box and vowing to burn them all before Gramps got back and was able to resist. She moved to pick up the next relic, freezing in the act. There, on the floor, lay a purple orb, glistening in the limited light in the room. Slowly, Kagome picked it up and gazed at it. It truly did look identical to the real one sat at the base of her neck. She placed the replica into the box with the remains. If she couldn't incinerate the real thing then she could burn something that closely resembled it, at least.

One hand moved to the jewel, caressing it lightly and feeling the familiar waves of turbulent energies within in that were not present in the replica, their eternal battle raging on. Shaking her head, she dropped her hand to her side and exited the storage room.

Rays of sunlight shone down on the Higurashi shrine, providing a comfortable warmth. At the centre of the shrine ground was Steve, absentmindedly sweeping the dust away. Beneath one of the sakura trees bordering the remnants of Inuyasha's forest was Bucky, leaning against the trunk of the tree, the light wind prompting some of the flowers to float down, landing around him and dancing in the air, travelling all over the shrine grounds.

Kagome watched it with a smile. It felt peaceful, simply being here and doing menial tasks without the pressure of the UN constantly on her.

She waved to Bucky who lazily returned the gesture. "I'm gonna go shopping, since we don't really have any food. You guys wanna come with me?"

"Sure." Steve replied, placing the broom against the external wall of the storage room.

"Bucky?" Kagome asked hopefully, prancing over to him.

He sighed. "People could recognise me."

Kagome tapped her chin for a few moments. "I'm sure we could disguise you." She beamed.

Slowly, Bucky nodded his head in silent agreement.

"Great!" Kagome made her way to the entrance of her house, sliding the glass door open, pushing past the blue curtain, and bouncing inside, kicking her shoes off quickly. Minutes later, she emerged from the house in a short white sundress, with a dark snapback that she assumed belonged to Souta in her hand. She had released her hair from the ponytail it had been in, allowing it to cascade down her back, contrasting with the white dress, which came to her mid-thigh.

"Here you go," She smiled, standing on the tips of her toes, reaching up and placing the hat on Bucky's head, hiding most of his face from view. "I was thinking we could go into the city? Maybe just the stores here will do, I'm not really sure since it's been a while since I've been back at the shrine." Kagome looped her arm around Bucky's, pulling him along with her.

"Come on, Steve!" She yelled over her shoulder, giggling. He jogged over to them, walking at a comfortable pace at Kagome's other side. She happily looped her other arm with his, pulling both men down the shrine stairs that loomed above the street.

Kagome led them down the steps, glancing quickly back up at the shrine, gazing at the red torii gate that guarded the entrance above the steps, before turning her attention back to the street. It was fairly wide, with cute brightly-painted houses and tall buildings, some of which were shops, placed on the side opposite the shrine, the occasional car parked along the pavement.

"I'm pretty sure the shops are still down here." Kagome said, walking down the street in pleasant silence until they reached a turn, at which Kagome nodded enthusiastically. "The store's right here."

She led them into a store, the front of which was painted an olive green, with large windows, and writing above the doorway in Japanese. Kagome pushed open the clear door, the bell jingling as she made her way in, releasing both men from the hold she had on them. Aisles upon aisles of food were laid out before them, spanning from the floor to nearly a foot away from the ceiling.

Absentmindedly, Kagome picked up a basket, and proceeded into the first aisle, her eyes scanning for anything she could make use of. What were you meant to feed two supersoldiers? With a hum, she decided that she would have to make Japanese food, given that her knowledge of western dishes was rather limited. Firstly, she picked up a packet of rice, and then added another into the basket. She made her way out of the first aisle, steadily moving through them until she had been through the whole store.

At that point, she had gathered rice, seaweed and fish, to make sushi, along with miso soup, octopus sausages, pickled vegetables and ramen. She glanced down at the ramen packet with a nostalgic smile on her face. She missed Inuyasha dearly, and the ramen only served to remind her of him, she no longer thought of him with pain in her heart, but instead she thought of him with acceptance that he was gone and the past fondness she had for him.

"You guys want anything?" Kagome put her hand on Steve's shoulder, having found both Steve and Bucky in the western section of the grocery store, looking at the American products they offered. Above the section was an American flag, showing the country the products had originated from.

Steve shook his head, "Honestly, I don't even know what half of the stuff in here is."

"I feel the same way about American stores." She laughed, glancing down the aisle to beyond where the western section ended, catching a glimpse of something she just had to buy. Kagome half-dashed down the aisle, earning her two vaguely concerned looks. She pulled the packet off the shelf, cradling it to her chest, and then placing it gently into the basket.

"What?" She shrugged. "I love pocky." Kagome said simply, as if that explained it. The men followed after Kagome as she made her way to the check out, letting the cashier scan every item and then paying for it. She was about to pick up the grocery bags when Bucky got them for her.

"Thanks," Kagome smiled. "Is there anywhere else you guys wanna go?"

After getting two negative responses, Kagome decided that they would go back to the shrine. The walk back was quiet, the only noise being the sound of cars passing. That was until they reached just a few feet before the steps leading up to the shrine. Behind her, Kagome could hear a deep panting.

"Kagome!" A voice called.

She turned around, her male companions having already done the same thing to look at the man wildly running towards them, breathing heavily and stopping right in front of them. Kagome looked at him quizzically, just as clueless as Bucky and Steve, who were observing the man and seemingly trying to determine what he wanted. The man stood up straight, having previously bent over with his hands on his knees from exertion, and running a hand through his short mousy brown hair, which had began to invade his familiar chocolate eyes.

"It's great to see you again." He gave her a charming grin. "Oh man, you really haven't changed at all since high school."

She blinked, the voice taking a second to register with her. "Hojo?"

He nodded, beaming.

He certainly did look different- he wasn't the same boy he was back then, although he still had the same demeanour. Hojo was older, lines beginning to grace his perpetually boyish face, and she could have sworn she saw a grey hair there, too.

"Wow, I haven't seen you in years." She remarked. Since she finished high school and moved out of Tokyo to work for S.H.I.E.L.D, and then eventually she lived elsewhere in Japan, she hadn't been expecting to ever see him again. He, like the rest of her classmates, had aged slightly, while she was left looking in her late teens to early twenties, a result of the jewel sat at the base of her neck.

"How are you? Are you better now?" Hojo asked excitedly.

Kagome nodded, "Yeah, I am. How've you been?"

"Great! I've taken over my family's medical shop. You know, we've all been missing you since you left. I always did hope you'd come back." He nodded enthusiastically, the smile on his face remained unchanged despite the years that had passed. "Hey, if you're free this weekend, we should go get coffee together, like we used to when we went on dates!"

Kagome paled slightly, resisting the urge to groan. "I-uh, actually, Hojo, I'd love to, but I don't quite have the time this weekend."

"That's okay," He looked slightly downcast before beaming. "There's always next weekend!"

"We'll see," She plastered a smile on her face, "See you around, Hojo."

Kagome quickly looped her arms through Steve and Bucky's, and pulled them up the stone stairs to the shrine with her rather hastily, both men casting skeptical looks at Hojo over their shoulders.

"Who was that guy?" Steve questioned with a raised eyebrow, looking down at the woman tucked between himself and Bucky.

Now, she really did groan. "A guy I went to high school with, he's really nice, don't get me wrong, but a bit, uh, enthusiastic about me."

Bucky instinctively moved closer to her, "He's a creep?"

She shook her head vigorously, her inky black hair cascading down her back. "He's a nice boy and he's definitely not a creep, but he really would have been better off with one of my friends instead of trying to get me to date him."

"Why's that?" Steve asked, half-amused, and half-flooded with an emotion he couldn't quite pinpoint.

"They all liked him, for a start. And, I wasn't exactly very consistent in my teenage years - he really is nice, but he's kinda boring." Kagome shrugged, the three of them finally reaching the top of the stairs. "I'm going to make dinner, are you guys up for oden?" She chirped.

"No idea what that is," Steve said simply, earning a nod from Bucky.

"You'll love it!" Kagome smiled broadly, quickly taking her groceries from Bucky's hands and skipping back to her house, disappearing beyond the sliding door and into the kitchen.

"She really is something, isn't she?" Steve smiled, watching her merrily bounce into the house.

Bucky nodded in agreement. "Not many people would do what she does."

"And that's what makes her incredible. The world seems at peace whenever she's around."

"She makes everything seem so much better, I can forget about Hydra if she's there, I can forget everything that I've done."

Steve put a reassuring hand on Bucky's shoulder. "The things they made you do weren't your fault, Buck."

"I still did them though, didn't I? I don't know what I did right to deserve her helping me." Bucky whispered, a hand curling into a fist at his side.

"She thinks you're a good man, we both do." Steve gently guided Bucky towards the house, walking under the sakura trees that bordered the remnants of Inuyasha's forest. "You just need to see it too, we'll help you get there."

"You already do more than enough, both of you." He mumbled, brushing a fallen pink petal off his shoulder.

Steve shook his head, "We're all in this together, pal."

"Till the end of the line." Bucky's lips twitched upwards.

"Till the end of the line." Steve repeated, giving Bucky's shoulder a squeeze. "You've got me and Kagome now, you're not alone."

Quietly, the two men entered the house, finding Kagome wearing a blue apron over her short white sundress, with a wooden spoon in hand, surrounded by a selection of pots.

"Where's Mama put the sieve?" She hummed to herself, shrieking when she turned around and saw the two men's imposing figures. "Yikes, you frightened me." She sighed heavily, soon going back to searching the kitchen for the missing utensil. After plundering numerous cupboards, she found it.

"You guys can go watch TV if you want," She shrugged towards the living room, "Or you could come help me strain the dashi soup, whichever you prefer."

Steve looked at Bucky in amusement and shrugged, moving to stand next to Kagome. "What would you like me to do?"

"Hold this," She explained, pushing a bowl of ingredients into his arms. "You helping, too?" She smiled at Bucky's affirmative nod. "So, what you need to do is chop the daikon-"

"The what?" Steve asked.

Kagome looked bewildered for a moment. "Oh, right, it's a winter radish." She bustled around the kitchen, selecting a chopping board, placing it on the kitchen counter, and putting a few of the white radishes on it. With a gentle hand, she guided Bucky over to the chopping board, slowly pulling a knife from the drawer and carefully placing the knife in his hand, the blade pointed towards herself. "The slices don't have to be thin, about an inch thick is best."

"Okay," He murmured, chopping the radish just as he had been instructed.

11:37 PM, Higurashi Shrine, Japan - Monday

Kagome yawned, glancing from the sofa where she was seated between Bucky and Steve, to the clock on the wall. "It's late," She said simply. Her day had been productive, but mostly spent cooking oden and waiting for the delicious dish to be ready. Glancing between the two men, both seemed to be rather tired, too.

"Do you guys want to go to bed?" Kagome asked, standing up and stretching slightly, immediately missing the warmth that she had while sandwiched between her two companions.

"Sure," Steve agreed easily, looking to Bucky, who also agreed with a nod.

Kagome tapped her chin thoughtfully, "My house is kinda small- Bucky, you can have my room, Steve, you can go in the guest room, and I'll take the sofa."

"Kagome-" Steve protested, but was swiftly shut down with a wave of her hand.

"I'll take the sofa," Bucky decided for her, ignoring her indignant cries about him being the guest. "You've already done enough."

She conceded with a scowl, internally vowing to up her 'host skills' to make up for it. With a sigh, she meandered up the stairs, and into her room.

After several moments, Steve turned back to Bucky, shaking his head. "She's different, isn't she?"

"She really is." Bucky replied. "I've never met a woman like her."

"Kagome's incredible." The blonde confirmed, smiling semi-giddily, leaning back on the sofa and looking at Bucky with a raised eyebrow. "You care about her?"

He nodded slowly, "She's done a lot for me, I really don't want to see her get hurt, Steve. When I heard her scream at the facility, god-" He put his head in his hands, "I didn't know what to do, I don't think I've been that panicked in years."

Steve put a hand on Bucky's leg reassuringly, "She's fine, Buck. No matter what happens, we'll protect her - she could be ours. Buck, she could be ours forever."

"You too?" Bucky whispered, looking up at Steve - blue meeting blue searchingly.

Steve just nodded slowly, a soft smile gracing his face. "It's impossible not to, isn't it? Together we could-"

"She'd have to agree first, punk." Bucky argued with a quiet huff.

"She's have to agree to what?" The soft voice of none other than the woman in question interrupted them as she sauntered into the living room, the short white sundress replaced by equally tiny shorts and a tight tank top, the purple orb still resting between her collarbones.

His eyes darted to Steve's before he ultimately decided to change the subject. "Can you-" Bucky began gently.

"Of course," Kagome cut him off with a smile, already sensing his slight unease and realising what he would ask of her. She resumed her position between Steve and Bucky, facing the brunette. She scooted closer, the deliciously cold metal arm pulling her into his lap. She blushed at the contact, although she didn't avoid his intense gaze. With one hand on his firm chest, the other lay on the sofa, until it was enveloped in Steves'.

Kagome's breathing hitched, she didn't quite know what to think. Focusing on the task she was asked to do was seemingly the only thing stopping her from melting. Her eyes fluttered shut, her mind doing its' best to ignore her thundering heartbeat. Despite her flustered condition, it didn't take long for her to relax into the contact and give Steve's hand a squeeze. Only then, at the height of her tranquility did she manage to fully get her grasp on her powers.

Pink wisps of energy slowly materialised over her hands, dancing over both the palm that was flat against Bucky's chest and the hand joined with Steve's. They swayed as if to an otherworldly wind, caressing the bodies of the two men she was between as well as meandering up her arms with feather-light touches that almost made her shiver.

They remained in that position for some time, the energy sweeping through their bodies, bringing serenity with it, before it gradually dissipated.

Kagome freed herself from Steve's grip and moved to climb off Bucky's lap, but was prevented from doing so by Steve's hand darting out and capturing her arm.

"Stay?" He asked, the most pleadingly that she had ever seen him.

She looked over to Bucky, finding the exact same longing look in his eyes. It took her less than a moment to make up her mind. Spurred on by their pining looks, she shuffled between them, welcomed by Steve's arm around her shoulder and Bucky leaning his head into the crook of her neck.

A torrent of thoughts swept through her, each one more incomprehensible than the last. She may not have understood exactly what was happening, but it felt right, it felt like she belonged between them, limbs tangled together in complete contentedness. She hummed, it was a strange sensation, being sandwiched between two men, in a way that she felt ran deeper than the feelings she had for most people, but it was a welcome one.

She had been hired to find out Bucky's deepest, darkest secrets and expose them for all the world to see - to ensure that he could stand trial and uncover as much damning evidence as she could while she was at it. What she found was a man haunted by his past but still very much capable of making her heart skip a beat. She had the distinct feeling that the only two remaining people that truly cared about him were there, lying with him.

Meeting Steve had been purely because of Bucky. He had a genuine concern for everyone and everything around him, and a strong sense of justice that rivalled her own. She could tell that he cared for Bucky just as deeply as she did, and she adored him all the more for it.

With that thought, she drifted off into the best sleep she had experienced in years.

08:29 AM, Higurashi Shrine, Japan - Tuesday

Kagome awoke, comfortable and content but with a profound confusion. She cared for both men deeply, and they obviously had that strong bond between them forged years ago - while being there, entangled in their arms felt unequivocally right, she didn't know where she fit in.

Bucky stirred from his position slumped into her side, herself having fallen at some point in the night and she was now positioned against Steve's chest, with Bucky's head cradled against her. He moved some more, his eyes fluttering open, a puzzled look crossing his face for an instant, before he looked up to Kagome and Steve and gave her one of the most genuine smiles she had ever seen from him, rather than simply an upwards twitch of the lips, he was smiling.

Kagome couldn't help but beam back, gently stroking his hair and leaning further into Steve's tight hold on her. It wasn't until she felt Steve grinning into her neck that she realised he, too, was awake.

"Morning," She yawned, stretching her limbs slightly although she had rather limited movement.

"I think that's the most I've slept in ages," Bucky admitted quietly.

"Me too," Kagome continued her light touches comfortingly.

"Thank you," Bucky whispered.

Kagome frowned. "What for?"

"Everything." The brunette responded simply.

When Kagome remained confused, Steve pulled her closer to him. "What he's trying to say is that you've made our lives so much better, Kagome. You gave him a chance, you saw me as more than just Captain America. You're amazing-"

"Steve-"

"Let me finish," He smiled, silencing her by turning her in such a way that she could see himself and Bucky. "You're exceptional, you know that, right? I understand if you say no, and we'll respect that, but- please, be ours?"

"Ours?" She echoed.

"Ours." Bucky confirmed, scanning her face for any hint of what her answer could be.

A smile broke out across her face, "There's nothing I'd like more."

"Good," Steve grinned, his fingers ghosting over her jawline before he pulled her in for a searing kiss, his other hand gently squeezing Bucky's, before he released their girl and positioned her between them, the brunette softly kissing the side of her neck closest to him.

For Kagome, it was an easy rhythm to fall into. Her heart was so pure, her compassion so deep, that she could love any number of people forever. But in that moment, she chose to devote herself to just two, regardless of how others may view their relationship, particularly the UN who had initially requested her to prepare Bucky for trial. In that moment, all she needed was the two men beside her, and their love.

"You're ours, till the end of the line." Steve teased, refusing to let her leave his arms.

"Till the end of the line." Bucky repeated, Kagome's heart skipping a beat as he unveiled another one of his rare genuine smiles.

She giggled, relaxing into the dual embrace. "Why stop there?"


End file.
